The PA-IN Erudition

2012-01-27T06:45:00.017-05:00

Friday Follies...
In spite of the crazy-ass weather, we've made it to the end of another week...huzzah!
Wifey has been feeling a bit UNDER that weather, so she's here at home, resting up.
The weather is stable for the time being, with a bit of snow tomorrow (1-2 inches), hardly a dusting for me.
So naturally, I did what any loving husband and help-mate would do:
I "volunteered" to fill in for the Missus at school, but since I don't have a piece of paper that SAYS I'm qualified, that washes me out.
I will admit that given the atmosphere in today's classrooms, I could easily be considered a "hard-ass" as far as teachers go.

I just expect kids to pay the hell attention (like WE had to). And I suppose the whole "running out of corners in the room to put the DUNCES in after the first few minutes" would have nothing to do with that.
Yeah, I could see myself as their WORST nightmare...I like that.
*** There are several careers I could not possibly perform in TODAY'S society, and not for the lack of wanting or knowledge of the "mission-specific" material involved.
Two of those careers would be TEACHER and POLICEMAN.
I remember who my teachers were, and the impact upon me that many of them made.
They were people we (as students) looked UP to...
Much the same could be said of the police officers in those days.
You just didn't backtalk to either of them, because that would put your ass in a sling faster than you could blink.
These days...it's a whole different ballgame.
Teachers have to deal with students that are WAY more unruly and disrespectful, and the punishments for those kids is not as severe as in decades past. Parental involvement (on the whole) has waned over the last 30-40 years, and that just adds to the problems.
Police officers have it just as bad (if not worse) with these kids both when they're IN school, as well as when they get (read drop) the hell out of school.
There used to be defined areas of BLACK and WHITE when it came to dealing with either person.
Today, it's more about all those SHADES OF GRAY...where teachers and police have to be more "user-friendly" and more "diplomatic" when dealing with the public. And the "public" is a lot more prone to violent behavior and dysfunctionality (Bob's lexicon...lol)...so go figure how THAT'S supposed to work out.
I'm from the era when if you did something wrong...you were punished...period.
THAT alone was sufficient to dissuade you from becoming a further annoyance to others.
Once in a great while, you got a second chance, and you made sure you didn't go and piss THAT up against a wall.
In essence, you LEARNED from that mistake, and when you decided NOT to learn, the punishment became appropriately MORE severe.
Yes, there were consequences to be had in those days.
Today, some people wind up getting a dozen 2nd chances...and keep on screwing the hell up.
Or problem students continue to be mainstreamed with the regular kids, when they should be in a special school for hard-heads with attitude.
And that's not exactly working out all that well in our classrooms OR on our streets.
But, I digress...
We do have other more pressing issues about town, so let's check them out while pondering the above.
*** Fort Wayne's RECYCLE program is doing quite well...mostly.
Here's the link to today's story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120127/LOCAL/301279971/1002/LOCAL
King, I mean MAYOR Henry's goal is to have 80% of the city on the ONE-BIN system for recycling...(ROFL - good luck with that one).
I've been in contact with Matt Gratz (head of solid waste department) for more than a few years, and we've developed a good rapport (as well as with his predecessor, Dawn Ritchie, who taught Matt very well), and I can say that this one-bin rollout was handled in an exemplary manner.
There was media coverage, explaining in full what the mission statement was, and literature pertinent to the rollout was included in the utility bills preceding the acquisition of the bins my residents.
And Wifey and I were at the forefront when the "yellowtops" were provided. Been doing it from day-one.
It works for us...very well, in fact.
But you have to track back to 15 January when a story in the J-G described just HOW "successful" this program was citywide.
Here's the link to THAT story (New Bins a Boon for City):
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120115/LOCAL/301159920
There is an enclosed MAP of the city by zip code and you will notice that the zips with the LOWEST participation rates are those with the highest number of MINORITY groups. (mostly black & Hispanic)
The zip codes with the LOWEST participation rates are 46816 (61%), 46802 (56%), 46803 (47%), and MY area, 46806 (46%) nicely at the BOTTOM of the trash heap (pun intended).
Everywhere ELSE in the city, people seem to want to be on board with this, but NOT down here?
Why is that?
Apathy would appear to be my first response, followed by blatant stupidity and/or disrespect for ANY type of authority (like the city saying what you should do).
I would LOVE to see how Mayor Henry plans to get those mooks down here "with the program"...that would be fun to watch, because if there is one sound you ALWAYS hear on trash day, it's the clinking of booze bottles as the NON-recycle bins are emptied into the trucks when they pick them up.
Imagine how MUCH of that IS able to be recycled.
I'd bet if they brought BACK things like DEPOSIT BOTTLES, I'd not have nearly as much lawn trash from the troglodytes as I enjoy now.
Cripes, they'd be fighting each other FOR those bottles...LOL.
(now there's an idea to rid my area of undesirables...let them kill one another for deposit bottles...a marvelous concept)
Like I said...gonna be fun to watch the city TRY to get these people to recycle...Lord knows they can CREATE enough trash (from seemingly thin air) each and every week, and that's amazing in it's OWN right.
*** Bob Aldridge (local NRA-certified firearms instructor) had a great editorial yesterday in the paper regarding CCW laws in Indiana (and other states).
Here's the link to it:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120126/EDIT05/301269992/1147/EDIT07
I bring this up for a good reason (or three)...I'm a STAUNCH supporter of the 2nd Amendment, and I know my rights granted under our Constitution in such matters.
Recently, Indiana passed HR 822 (Nat'l right to carry reciprocity act of 2011) which basically allows law-abiding people to carry from state to state without incurring a felony (like you would get if you crossed into Ohio, which doesn't have such a law).
The discussion of the right to "Constitutional carry" or unrestricted carry is at the basis for the concept.
The 2nd Amendment, as established by TWO Supreme Court decisions (McDonald and Heller) says:
1) It's an individual right
2) The right applies to ALL states and federal enclaves
As said in the editorial, Vermont has NEVER had nor required a handgun carry permit for it's residents, and in 2003, Alaska removed it's requirements for law-abiding citizens to have a permit to carry a handgun.
Wyoming (that's "Momma Fargo-land" for you followers out there) and Arizona joined the Constitutional carry club in 2011.
Sixteen MORE states have introduced legislation along similar lines.
It would appear that THESE states realize that law-abiding citizens are the LEAST likely to cause trouble, and that the 2nd Amendment is NOT a "privilege", but a RIGHT, and as such, NOT subject to license OR permissions by governmental entities.
Besides, the criminal element is NEVER deterred by licensing laws...are they?
Bob Aldridge feels that Indiana should follow suit in eliminating the "requirement" for law-abiding citizens to purchase and posses a license to carry.
And I agree with him 100%.
(It would save me having to dole out $125 to get that lifetime license, $75 for 4 years, renewable through the FWPD).
I could use the money saved to...buy more ammo...lol.
*** Lastly today, there are people out there with GREAT ideas, and noble concepts.
Many times, they often involve less intrusion BY the government, and that's ALWAYS a good thing.
I believe that the majority of us CAN (and should) be able to self-govern a lot more than we do now.
But there will always be that portion of the people that REQUIRE governance, and that's on THEM...not me.
I'm not asking for ANY part of our federal, state, or local governments to "take care" of such people...just to hold THEM to the same level of accountability that we (those able to do for ourselves with less "supervision") hold ourselves to...that's all.
I feel that's the best way to get everyone on a similar page in life.
And why not have good people get a break for once...shouldn't a reward in some fashion be the result of being a good person, rather than being put down for being that way?
They say no good deed ever goes unpunished.
Maybe it's time to change that, and start looking up to such people again...like we used to do with those teachers...and police officers.
...And this post has come full circle - as was intended.
Have yourselves a fantastic weekend (whatever the weather).
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-26T07:18:00.017-05:00

If It's Trash day Here, That Means...
We probably have some LOUSY weather outside...which we certainly do this morning.
More about THAT in a minute, but first, the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"Be a model of valor by example and precept."
That was spoken by a favorite officer of mine...one USMC Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, 1942, to his officers and men before the landing of the 1st Marine division on Guadalcanal, (quoted from the Puller collection, Marine corps Historical Division.)
Now, back to that weather...
Having gotten some freezing rain across the Fort Wayne area, it's little wonder we are staring at closings for most all the schools, and traffic accidents that are keeping the local constabulary quite busy.
I dunno...it always seems like the crappy weather hits on Thursdays...when we put out the trashbins for pickup.
Had to knock a coating of ice off the lids when I added a bag of trash to the bin this morning.
Anyone with a vehicle outside will have to do likewise, so keep that scraper handy and give yourself a few minutes to warm the vehicle up.
Some extra TIME to get wherever you have to go (staying home is a nice option in such conditions) would be advisable.
So, while we're watching others deal with the weather, let's see what else has been going on...
*** School lunches are to become (even) more "nutritious"...
(rolls eyes)
Here we go again...with the whole healthy-thing crap, thanks in no small part to Mama Obama (Michelle - Ma Belle).
The dictate from "on high" is as follows:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/article_9efc028f-bf83-53f7-92d7-2d536bfd1012.html
Guess all those on the "free or reduced" lunch programs are watering at the mouth already.
Here is an article from NW Indiana that sheds some light on it:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/article_9efc028f-bf83-53f7-92d7-2d536bfd1012.html
Here's an older article that lays out the "framework" and what the COST will be:
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/FWCS-Prepares-For-New-Child-Nutrition-Law-111291454.html
And here's some data (county-by-county or by school district) for Indiana as to WHO is getting free or reduced meals:
http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/bystate/Rankings.aspx?state=IN&ind=5187
The numbers for both Allen and Marion counties (we won't even get into Gary, Indiana...that's obvious) are not only ABOVE the state average, but ABOVE the national average.
Now, all nutrition aside, I'd wager you could push cans of CAT FOOD in those cafeterias and you'd STILL have a higher % of students on the program (unlike Grandma, who HAS to eat cat food because her pension or SSI was eaten up by our federal government to PAY for lazy-ass people).
Granted, there ARE some folks that simply CANNOT pay full price for school meals, but does that ALSO mean they can't provide a meal AT HOME for the kids to "brown-bag" it to school?
Leftovers, anyone?
And I won't belabor the fact that SOME "parents" CAN'T provide the whole cereal-bowl-milk-spoon gig for their kids, because they don't know HOW to figure something THAT "difficult" the hell out.
I don't believe it really IS about CAN'T...It's about WON'T.
I thought food stamps ALLOWED for such "necessities" that would make a BROWN BAG LUNCH possible...or even a simple BREAKFAST?
The logic of all this is irrefutable.
And the lack of responsibility on many of those parents TO provide is unbelievable.
It really makes you wonder when you see ALL these overweight parents with kids on FREE breakfast or lunch programs, right?
Maybe baby-mama needs to push herself from the table sooner?
I like being charitable as much as the next person, but I really don't feel like RAISING everyone else's kids because their own parent (s) is/are too damn self-involved (or high as a kite) to care about those they brought into this world.
'Nuff said there.
*** Been having problems with your Internet or cell phone lately?
Well, it might be due to something I mentioned some time ago that was coming to our planet...SOLAR FLARES.
We're in the midst of one of those "active" periods in our sun's cycle.
But NASA was on to this way back in 2009, as was said in THIS story:
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/29may_noaaprediction/
This type of solar activity will play hell with comms system all over the planet, but lots more people WILL get to see the Northern Lights.
These occur when solar radiation smacks into Earth's magnetosphere.
(It's an astronomical-ionization thing)
Here's the 4-1-1 on this:
http://spaceweather.com/
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/today.html
Okay, so NOW...you're informed (and take off that tin-foil hat)!
*** Lastly today, we see continuing evidence of more government meddling in our lives, as well as the lives of our children.
When WE were young, our parents knew what was "good" for us, as well as what was BAD...and provided us accordingly.
Junk foods (fewer as they were at those times) were regarded as a TREAT, and not standard culinary fare.
Even the few fast food joints that began to pop up were looked at as something to do once in a while...and not subsist totally upon.
Then again, we had Mothers that actually KNEW what it was to (dare I say it?)...COOK!
Mom KNEW that the KITCHEN wasn't just "another room in the house", and made good use of that big-ass porcelain coated appliance sitting there...called a STOVE.
We didn't use that stove for auxiliary heating, and the oven was not meant to dry clothes, hair or small pets...EVER.
Our parents gave a damn, and we never had to have the government interfere.
Come to think of it, the government never had CAUSE or REASON to butt the hell into our lives in those days.
Maybe they thought we pretty much KNEW what the hell "we" were doing...as families go.
Today...not so much.
Our "government knows best"...it's no longer "Father knows Best"...or even Mom.
And everyone should ALWAYS know there IS no "free lunch"...not today...and not even in decades past.
The only thing "free" about lunch in MY day was that it was FREELY GIVEN to me...by MOM...who bought the items from DAD'S paycheck...because he WORKED his ass off...to EARN it.
And somehow, we all appreciated it a lot more than we do with things these days.
It was never "expected" that we get something for nothing...everything had it's own price...somewhere.
These days...seems too many want that same something, and are willing to do either little or nothing at all to deserve it.
Where is the responsibility THERE, hmm?
When did it become all well and good to kick back, put our feet up, and "let someone else do it for me"?
If we took THAT stance say...236 years ago, we'd still be talking with British accents and sipping tea at 4PM.
There comes that time when we ALL have to "man (or woman) up" and do what is REQUIRED, and not necessarily desired, in order to make things work in our lives.
No one ever said that the BEST choice we might have to make was the most popular...or the most entertaining.
Just, that's it the RIGHT choice if we want the best for ourselves, our children, and our nation.
Now there's truly something to think about, right?
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-25T08:16:00.013-05:00

Humpday Happenings...
Okay, so what has grated upon your nerves MORE this week....the GOP debates OR the fearless leader's "State of the Union" message last evening?
(stop yawning, too...LOL)
I'll let you mull that one over a spell while I attend to our "WHO SAID THAT?" quote of this week, so here goes:
"Be a model of valor by example and precept."
(hint - it was an American)
The answer will be at the top of tomorrow's post.
I thought THIS quote was particularly appropriate, considering what I was hearing last night for an hour (which was not anything close to that quote).
Now...on with "the show"....
*** There was a very interesting editorial in today's paper (Journal-Gazette) regarding these CHARTER SCHOOLS, and I think those of you with students might want to think on what it has to say to ALL of us.
Here's the link to the article:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120125/EDIT07/301259995/1021/EDIT
Now, you have to understand a few things about these charter schools.
1 - They are funded 100% by TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
2 - They are "FOR PROFIT" entities.
3 - They are "voucher-eligible".
With that said, let's look into WHO is the "landlord" for this city's FOUR charter schools.
ENTERTAINMENT PROPERTIES TRUST is the major "playa" in this scenario, and made $84 MILLION in profit last year (not too bad)...
BUT...
(uh, oh...here comes that other shoe dropping)
According to the article, the MAJORITY of those "funds" (from we, the people), are NOT going into educating the children attending those schools.
(say it ain't so, Bob)
In Indianapolis, LESS THAN 40% of the budget of the Life Sciences Academy East went to classroom costs in 2010, compared with the 71% of the funds that went into the Fort Wayne Community School system.
The Imagine MASTer Academy only spent 53.6% of it's budget compared to 65.3% of the East Allen County Schools system.
The cost of purchasing a building or even the LEASING of a building is eating WAY into the budgets of these charter schools, and not going into the classrooms for all that's needed there.
But, at least Entertainment Properties Trust is laughing all the way to IT'S bank, aren't they?
And those people have their fingers in a LOT of charter school pies in the area (like ALL of them).
Thing is, E.P.T. doesn't really have any competition...(and they like that).
Embracing charter school investment in such a cavalier manner should send up some warning signs to those board volunteers eager to offer such school choices at the taxpayers' expense.
Not as much bang for all those bucks (from us)...is it?
*** This is a case of apathy...and abuse of a privilege (imho).
Here's the article link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120125/EDIT07/301259991/1021/EDIT
Now a "take-home" vehicle IS a real luxury...and a privilege for those of us who had one at some time in our jobs.
I had a minivan, and I took as good care of that as I did my car, which meant I kept RECORDS (and receipts) of service and travel.
Since it belonged to the company, I could not try and claim such things as mileage for tax purposes - THAT was the sole realm of the company (accumulated depreciation, and the like). I was a steward of THEIR property.
Shame such things don't seem to work when it comes to vehicles taken home by CITY employees.
The article mentions that compliance and oversight issues trouble the program, and that should be a concern to the budget department.
City leaders acknowledged that take home vehicles (with the exception of public safety workers - aka the FWPD and other "on-call" employees), were an expensive PERK that had little to do with providing services to citizens...
('ya think?)
The REAL problem comes with those employees not covered above that HAVE take-homes, and yet ARE NOT tracking the PERSONAL USE of such vehicles.and were not taxed the appropriate amount on the value of the vehicle.
City leaders are REQUIRED to review the use of take home vehicles to verify that the "benefit" is worth the COST.
Not being done, people.
The BIG ticket "item" here isn't that FUBAR...it's THIS one:
City employees were APPROVING THEIR OWN REQUESTS for the vehicles...without seeking approval from either their managers or a governing board...!
How f$cked up is THAT?
And how much MONEY is being lost as a result?
We won't even get into the ETHICAL issues that something like this creates...that could a whole OTHER post.
suffice it to say, there needs to be some "watchdogging" done...people DO still want answers.
*** Now, about that speech last night...
Did a lot of what the "prez" had to say sound like something we heard before?
If I didn't know better, I'd think his speech "writer" pulled a "cut 'n paste" from several OTHER presidential speeches...
And I'm one of those folks that prefers the TRUTH...even if it's hard to take, because then WE (as a people and a nation) KNOW where we stand and what we have to do to get things back to rights.
Don't BS me, don't sugar-coat the crap, and don't talk down to me as if I'm some Aboriginal throwback with all the intellectual brilliance of a low-watt appliance bulb. That dog ain't gonna hunt with me.
Don't tell me one thing, when I already KNOW the opposite to be FACT...and the truth.
Don't say we ALL have to "pull together" when MANY of us have been pulling ALONE for quite some time.
Don't express EQUALITY by wanting to "level the field" (take from one group to give to another - more of that SOCIAL JUSTICE crap), when you know damn well that field HAS been level for a long time. People should never be MORE equal than others...that's class warfare, plain and simple.
Don't tell me you're willing to "work" with the other side, and then summarily dismiss any and all ideas THEY come up with, because it doesn't fit YOUR (progressive) agenda or between your golf outings.
Don't attempt to turn AMERICA into something it's not (nor ever wants to become).
This nation was The Grand Experiment...and it's worked pretty damn well for the last 236 years, so don't screw with it, kapeesh?
While I found the debates a bit taxing (and a might boring at times), this speech, although well-crafted and delivered, had little if any REAL substance beneath the words...sorry, that's just what I took away from it.
Indiana governor Mitch Daniels' "reply" afterwards had more depth..and a lot more facts.
*** Lastly today...we can see that things, however well intended are not always wheat they appear to be.
And such problems come from the top of government right on down to the local levels.
What becomes a sticking point is when such things trickle down further...to the PERSONAL level.
Everyone of these problems always begins with ONE person, whether it's fundamentally changing the face of America, or deciding to rob a Walgreens for prescripts...one person starts the ball rolling.
Conversely, it also takes ONE PERSON to make that (good) difference I end every post with...
Removing such things as tyranny and oppression from the lives of the early Americans began with ONE person...with an IDEA.
I still believe in such things, and I feel the numbers ARE growing, rather than diminishing.
It takes troubling times to often become the motivating factor that spurs people into action, because when things are going swell, who can be bothered with such "trivial" things, right?
And this nation has proven time and again, that no matter how difficult the challenge, we DO come out better on the other side of it.
We might be bloodied, bruised and battered, but this country, and all the good that she stands for continues.
There just might be a lesson in there...somewhere.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

2012-01-24T07:05:00.020-05:00

Believe It...Or Else...
Heartland weather...gotta love it, right?
It's snowing one day, then the temperatures jump to near FIFTY DEGREES the following day...with thunderstorms, and then back down below freezing the day after that...talk about weird.
At least there is ONE saving grace to all this - the weather is about as unstable as most of the locals around here (and the locals are a bit more predictable with certainty).
It must be so great to be a weather-person out here...imagine getting PAID to be WRONG at least 50% of the time, and guessing on the other fifty. Face it, even computer "models" can be wrong...mother nature is funny that way.
But enough about that. Let's get cracking and see what's been shaking out there in the (un) real world.
*** Item - A fetus was found at the Fort Wayne storm sewer facility.
Here's the story link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/fetus-found-in-fw-storm-sewer-house
(warning - put down the breakfast while reading)
Now, this is not being considered a homicide...yet.
Examinations to determine the COD are forthcoming, and will be released to the press when available.
If any criminal intent is found, then we can go with homicide.
It would not surprise me if some boyfriend kicked his "significant other", causing the miscarriage. A lot of "boyfriends" see abuse to a pregnant woman a way to prove one's manhood...(morons).
Such cases have been documented before, and those "manly" men soon become prison bitches (and rightly so).
*** Item - A volunteer worker at a FWCS school is dismissed.
Here's the story link (with video of the perp):
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/JAG-Teacher-Facing-Allegations-Of-Inappropriate-Relationship--137932333.html
Now, the priors for Damion L. Jackson end in 2006 with a driving violation, but that MJ bust was in 2003, and SHOULD have sent a red flag up somewhere. I mean he IS working with teens in high school. And yet, he got past TWO background checks.
I suppose we're no longer holding people's pasts against them...good for us...bad for the kids when someone like this is charged with "inappropriate behavior" with one of those teens at the high school.
And MAY-BE that's why we can even hire on FWPD officers with a background that might include cocaine use.
I'm just sayin'...
We USED to call it "holding to HIGHER standards"...for a reason.
*** Item - A loaded gun as found at a MIDDLE SCHOOL in Fort Wayne.
Here's the story link:
http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/Fully-Loaded-Gun-Found-In-Middle-School-Restroom-137931043.html
Interesting that the gun was brought with the INTENTION of being SOLD...right after a fight...curious, is it not?
At least these three l'il perps will get a taste of what to expect if they continue down the road they're currently on.
Seems that crime is finding it's way into lower and lower grades these days...wonder why that IS?
I'm sure glad it's NOT due to the breakdown of traditional family values, the lack of societal mores, or the loss and neglect of civility, integrity and personal responsibility...right?
*** Item - Apartment fire triggered by lightning.
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120124/LOCAL07/301249934/1002/LOCAL
The Autumn creek blaze seems to have been caused by a lightning strike, according to FWFD investigators (thank God no one fell asleep while cooking, or left something UNATTENDED on a stove the way SOME people do).
It was the fast thinking (and 911 dialing) by residents that fire fighters claim resulted in less damage and no injuries.
Why not just come out and say it was the QUALITY of the people living there...and be done with it, hmm?
Better people - better living conditions...simple as that.
*** Item - Be careful WHERE you hide stuff...
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120124/LOCAL07/301249933/1002/LOCAL
Now, Clifford "Kenny" White (how the hell do you get KENNY from CLIFFORD, anyway?) has this "thing" about trying to keep his cocaine stash from the po-po...trouble is, the police are often several steps AHEAD of the curve.
It's not rocket science...it's really ALIMENTARY.
And you have to remember that all investigation rooms are MONITORED (by video), so if you want to poke at your ass (for some odd reason), someone WILL be watching...and taking notes.
Now to me, nothing says "busted" like farting out 45.9 grams of cocaine, which is what "Kenny" eventually wound up doing.
I'm sorry, but there are CERTAIN parts of the human body that have only ONE function - that being EITHER and ENTRANCE or an EXIT.
But not BOTH...and not for the purpose of Kenny's "desires".
With few exceptions (like specific medical procedures), there are NO 2-way streets in our anatomy.
(bet'cha Mr. White also likes to go IN through the OUT door at stores, too)
We know what the BRAIN looks like on drugs...no one ever has shown what the ASS looks like. (aside from a picture of Kenny in some mugshot book)
BTW, he's got a really nice LONG rap sheet (and before you ask...YES, he is black) with a LOT of controlled substance dealing as well as traffic violations out the ass (along with those grams of coke...lol)
And he currently lists his address as 405. E. Creighton Av.
His middle name is listed as KENNEDY (hence the "Kenny")
OMG...they caught KENNY...you BASTARDS!
*** Item - New charter school hits snag.
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120124/LOCAL04/301249975
Now the school is named after Justice Thurgood Marshall...a nice thing.
BUT, the "theme" of the school is...(...wait for it...)...
SOCIAL JUSTICE.
(who knew?)
This is very disturbing, when you think about it.
Social justice was something that Karl Marx really climbed in bed with...and caused millions to die as a result of communism.
But don't just take my word on it...check these links out that tell the TRUTH about "social justice"...like THIS wonderful article by (one of my favorite people) Walter Williams:
http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/101020-williams-leftists-progressives.php
Or this one:
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/guides/Z-Social%20Justice-Code%20for%20Communism.htm
(lengthy, but definitely worth the read)
On how about THIS one:
http://libertarianchristians.com/2011/09/08/whats-wrong-with-social-justice/
And finally, THIS one:
http://michellemalkin.com/2010/04/16/when-social-justice-is-a-code-phrase/
That should get every one of you back on track if you thought that social justice was a "good" thing...because it isn't.
*** Lastly today, according to the Chinese calendar, we are now officially in the YEAR OF THE DRAGON.
I was born in such a year (1952) and the traits are explained thus: Innovative, Enterprising, Flexible, Self-assured, Brave, Passionate, Conceited, Tactless, Scrutinizing, Unanticipated, Quick-tempered. (sounds about right...lol)
And wow, do we have our share of "Dragons" out there!
1988:
Julianne Hough
1976:
Ryan Reynolds, Alicia Silverstone, Reese Witherspoon, Colin Ferrell, Soleil Moon Frye,
1964:
Nick Cage, Sandra Bullock, Rob Lowe, Keanu Reeves, Russell Crowe, Marisa Tomei, Famke Janssen, Patrick Warburton, Joss Whedon, Teri Hatcher, David Spade, Melissa Gilbert, French Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Christopher Judge, Blair Underwood, Robert Duncan McNeill, Adam Carolla, Ned Vaughn, Greg Gutfeld, Bobby Labonte
1952:
Liam Neeson, Jeff Goldblum, John Goodman, Mickey Rourke, Steven Segall, Stephen Lange, Mandy Patinkin, Patrick Swayze, Jenny Agutter, Mary McDonnell, Dan Ackroyd, Terry O'Quinn, Christopher Reeve, Mr. T, Michael Dorn, Chuck Lorre, Michael Jeter, Jonathan Frakes, Annie Potts, CCH Pounder, Annette O'Toole, Graham Greene, Alfre Woodard, Edward Zwick, Marilu Henner, Harry Anderson, Clive Barker
1940:
Al Pacino, John Hurt, Chuck Norris, Patrick Stewart, Martin Sheen, James Caan, Bruce Lee, Raquel Welch, George Romero, Rene Auberjonois, Ed Lauter, Burt Young, Sam Waterston, Nancy Sinatra, Alex Trebek
(and those are but SOME of the notable people born in such years - there are literally THOUSANDS more)
So, I think I'm in pretty good "company"...
Happy "New Year"...again.
(break out the bubbly...and the egg rolls...lol)
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-23T08:40:00.015-05:00

Monday Musings...
Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends...
(at least it seems that way most weeks...LOL)
Got a decent snowfall this past weekend (about 5 inches around the Fort Wayne area), and that meant we went grocery shopping this weekend!
The good news was that the streets were relatively devoid of drivers, making the trip out and back a LOT less problematic.
The thing I like about driving in the snow, is that the car will TURN ITSELF (with the proper motivation).
You ease into a turn, goose the throttle lightly, and the ass-end comes right along like an obedient puppy at your heels...marvelous!
You loosen the grip on the wheel, and watch it turn itself back around...so damn simple.
Yeah, that WAS enjoyable to say the least...AND we were back at the Fortress within an hour (including a fill up at the pumps - gas was $3.22 a gallon...A-FREAKING-MAZING!).
After that, it was sit back, celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day (for real, I don't make this stuff up - google it) and watch the fun from the windows, as others (bi-peds) attempted to get around.
We did have one numb-nut "neighbor" get into a traffic altercation right IN FRONT of her damn (gov't-sponsored)house...
But, I guess if you NEED to get into a fender-bender, best to do it as "close to home" as possible, hmm?
Her ghettomobile already looks like it's been through a demolition derby or two...they can't take care of anything.
(nature of the beast...Darwin must have been right there)
And on THAT note, let's get to the center of today's shrubbery maze, shall we?
*** Last week, I mentioned a story (Frank Gray - Journal Gazette) about how one woman was loosing her (HUD) house because "sonny-boy" was getting his ass into several slings when it came to the judicial system.
Well, it's NOT just around here...other folks in other cities are loosing their homes, like THIS woman:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120123/NEWS03/301239924
Here we have a 101 year old woman with a 65 year old son in a house she lived in for over SIXTY years, and because of a default of the PROPERTY TAX (due to a reverse mortgage - be VERY careful with these), she has been evicted...!
Naturally, this would take place in DETROIT.
I'm sure she's watched the VALUE of her house plummet over the decades (kinda like OURS has), to the point where her home is now worth about $32K (which was LESS than the total amount of that reverse mortgage)...and the government goes there "to help"...
(yeah, right)
I'd bet her property tax probably wasn't all that high, either.
She is currently living with a friend (the house was deemed uninhabitable now - repairs DO cost money and thispoor woman wasn't pulling a DYI), but it goes to show what can happen when the "small sh*t" gets away from you and develops into some BIG sh*t.
Maybe if Detroit hadn't catered to drugs and gangs and "poverty-stricken" lowlifes lying their lazy asses off for the last 30 years, this poor woman wouldn't find herself in such a predicament.
When you have to snatch a house from a SENIOR for property tax non-payment, and yet ALLOW entire neighborhoods of that city to fall into disrepair and still do nothing, that doesn't say much for the governing body of that city.
*** And speaking of having the wrong people living in places they don't deserve to, there's THIS little gem:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120122/LOCAL07/120129841/1002/LOCAL
And ANOTHER version of the story from WANE:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/fwfd-fights-large-fire-at-eden-green?ref=scroller&categoryId=20000&status=true
(with video)
The Eden Green Apartments might SOUND enticing, but trust me, nothing could be FARTHER from the truth.
That complex has BEEN a hotbed of crime and the poster child for stupidity since I moved here (in 1996), and I'm sure it was like that even before that.
Now, with it only a spit and a slide from the FWPD building on Creighton, you'd THINK people would tend to behave themselves...
(don't make me laugh)
There is as much crime THERE as the worst area in the city (which also might be those apartments)
So, it comes as NO surprise to me whenever someone is "cooking" and suddenly a fire breaks out.
Obviously, the stove was left UNATTENDED (typical), and the resulting fire sent one person to the hospital in critical condition.
Five others were rescued by the FWFD from the balcony.
I watched the video from WANE, and they picked the right "drama queen" to interview...she could pass for any one of my "neighbors", and I could tell you right now, people like that are a PROBLEM to normal folks. All is NEVER what it seems with them.
You have FIVE people in the apartment (lease violation or visitors?) and NOT ONE OF THEM knew what to do with a fire, or even cared ENOUGH to WATCH whatever was on the stove? What was SO damn important that it took their attention from the kitchen?
And WHY wasn't the smoke detector working?
I know it would be a HUGE stretch to even wonder if they had something we call a FIRE EXTINGUISHER.
I'm often amazed that they can find their damn ass with both hands most days...
Again, we see what happens when people who know NOTHING about HOW to handle living on their own and being a RESPONSIBLE individual come up against something they are ignorant of.
(they get a new apartment, Bob?)
Well, that might happen...or better yet, move them down HERE into a vacant hovel and let them try and burn a city BLOCK down.
How many incidents do we really need with people either ignoring food on a stove (probably GREASE, which spreads all too fast), or those who FALL ASLEEP while "cooking", before someone decides to make these people LEARN how to be responsible?
Something tells me, we might have to see a few fatalities before anything of substance gets done.
*** And then, for all you people with children out there...there's THIS:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120123/NEWS07/301239926
This is very troubling, because it took the deaths of SIX children to get this problem noticed in the Department of Child Services of Indiana.
Money wasted, more people hired, recidivism of abuse and neglect, lengthy cases...all of these (and more) have contributed to an investigation of the department (and about damn time, too).
One could look back into the Aliahna Lemmon case to see if in fact, there were situations that placed this child at risk LONG before she met her demise at the hands of a monster.
Or, we could look into the whole "responsibility" gig with the last two generations of society...the SAME ones that fall asleep while cooking, or roll over onto their infant, smothering them in the process.
*** There was another fire at an apartment complex, but apparently NOT at the hands of any "galloping gourmet":
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/attic-fire-evacuates-apartment-building
The Autumn Creek apartments had what is believed to be an attic fire, resulting from either an electrical issue or a lightning strike.
The FWFD credits keeping the loss to a minimum in part to OBSERVANT RESIDENTS and the quick response by fire fighters.
And THIS fire occurred at 0230 HOURS...when people ARE ASLEEP...and not at 0730 while "cooking".
Easy to see the difference an education makes...right?
*** Lastly today, we have instances of people losing their "homes" (or even children)...some by no fault of their own, and others through dubious means.
I was brought up to RESPECT "STUFF"...and PEOPLE.
Sure, you respected the policeman or the crossing guard and the teachers, but you also respected the STORES you shopped at (you don't steal of shoplift from them), the SCHOOLS you attended (no graffiti, no sassing teachers, no bullying, and no destruction of school property including textbooks), and the HOUSES (or apartments) you lived in...period.
No fists through walls, broken windows (you paid for it if a ball went through one...believe you me), and no trespassing unless invited onto a property.
If you were renting (as my family did for the first 14 years of my life), you treated that house with the respect it deserved for a couple reasons:
1) It was not "yours" (unless it was free and clear and YOU held the deed)
2) It provides shelter (and warmth) when taken care of.
3) You were a product of responsible parents, as were they of their parents.
I still follow that mindset when it comes to our "fortress".
This is like my Dad would say:
"If you take care of IT...it will take care of YOU."
He WAS talking about his CAR, but the words ring as true with ANYTHING you have in your possession, and especially when it comes to the largest SINGLE investment you will have in your lifetime...a place to call HOME.
But, when people are brought up to NOT respect others (or even themselves), it's easy to see that carry over to anything they might come into possession of just as readily, and that applies to raising children even more so.
Curiously enough...when you have the overwhelming majority of people (race is not a factor in this, either) who DO take care of what life (or God) has seen fit to allow them to have, it rubs off...others wants to also keep up appearances, in order to not only feel good about themselves, but to allow others to see that they are equal to everyone else.
And I think that learning the lesson of good stewardship, no matter WHO you are, or from what background you've come from, is something we ALL need to embrace. In some cases, not doing so can cost people their lives.
The stuff can always be replaced.
Have yourselves a great week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

2012-01-20T07:39:00.015-05:00

Friday Follies...
End of another week, and the beginning of a curious weather pattern here in the Heartland.
After a dusting of snow yesterday, and with temperatures remaining in the lower double digits, we are supposed to get 1-2 inches (Fort Wayne area) between 1400 - 2000 hrs. But wait, we're not finished yet...
After midnight, we might be getting an additional 2-3 inches on top of that.
Well, that should make grocery shopping tomorrow QUITE "SPORTY" out there on the roads.
It's not that we really HAVE to go - we've enough food stocked for a few weeks, but some essentials always need replenishment (milk, lunchmeats, cheeses), we just prefer to go when it's NOT CROWDED (you understand).
Considering I drove in weather like this (and sometimes worse) for a living in another lifetime ago, it's always good to "refresh" your memory and stay in practice. Trouble is, not everyone feels the same way...more about that later.
In the meantime, there's this:
*** You MOMS out there (as well a DADS) will find this story a bit disturbing in more than a few ways.
Here's the link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/wane-fw-mom--son-buying-spice-with-food-stamp-card
(good video, too)
See, here in Indiana, we recently passed a law banning that K2 "spice" crap (potpourri) that teens have taken to smoking (and getting damn sick as well as tweaking the hell out). This "synthetic" form of Mary Jane is still however finding it's way into the hands of those that aren't supposed to have it. It's still being sold at gas stations and convenience stores under NEW names and with slightly DIFFERENT ingredients in order to skirt the law.
We're NOT talking the kind of SPICE one finds in a Frank Herbert novel or movie, either...
Although the brains of those using it might LOOK about as barren and void of life as the dunes of Arrakis after a brief time.
(sand worms, anyone?)
Now this mom in the story was having her FOOD STAMP MONEY used to BUY such sh*t (by her son, who's in his TWENTIES).
And he claims addiction to the synthetic pot.
Uh, forgive me for being just a wee bit "insensitive" here, but WTH is he doing at home when he COULD (or should) be helping mom by working some JOB somewhere?
I mean, I was working when I was 16 at a restaurant (in Philly, Michelo's at Sheffield & Frankford Aves) several nights a week as a busboy, and doing so teaches one valuable lessons when it comes to EARNING a living, paying bills, and managing money.
But to swipe mom's DEBIT CARD for public assistance, and then say he was buying GROCERIES (lying) just compounds the problem.
Mom DID have the foresight to check the RECEIPTS from the store and caught sonny-boy's ass that way.
BTW, the spice is rung up as NON-TAXABLE GROCERY on the slip, so it can conform to welfare debit card guidelines.
I do find it troubling that the reporter that went to the same station was REFUSED a receipt when asked for one.
Didn't know a store could DO that...in fact, I don't believe they CAN.
I know I'd have someone with a shield and a gun with a warrant knocking on the door to THAT store.
*** This type of story always makes me smile...wonder why?
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120120/LOCAL07/301209924
It's nice to see good old-fashioned POLICE WORK pay off...isn't it?
Thank those on PATROL with sharp eyes who spot a perp vehicle from a robbery back on 5 January (in another town)...and then make the collar.
I love it.
The robbery occurred in Grabill, the man was from Fort Wayne (where else?), and he was arrested in Leo-Cedarville.
And the perp goes by a SINGLE name - VALANCE (isn't that like a type of CURTAIN???)
Anywho, Mr. "Valance", age 41, who lives in the 5400 block of Old Maumee Rd got to have the innards of his house "rearranged", courtesy of the local LEOs, who found a pellet pistol, clothes matching the description of the robber, and shoes with the same tread-pattern as those found on scene at the robbery site. Yep, we call that good policing for a REASON.
Bond was set at $20K...enjoy your stay, Valance...and NO curtains in YOUR cell...LOL.
*** More problems for the Broadway Joe's tavern.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120120/LOCAL07/301209923
Here we had three men, around 20 years old, who entered the bar around 2100 hrs. on the night of 15 January.
After one of the men jumped over the counter and shouted GIVE ME THE MONEY to the bartender, that's when a robbery decided to go wrong.
The bartender grabbed the gun, which discharged, but injured no one.
While this was going on, the other two thugs demanded patrons get on the floor.
The bartender gained control of the handgun, and it was then that all THREE robbers left the tavern...with NO MONEY and one gun lighter.
Obviously, they're all still at-large, so business owners beware of THREE men with TWO guns who might want to hold you up.
(how much you wanna bet they're BLACK, even if the story gives NO descriptions?)
If you check my archives from 28 & 29 November (last year) you find that one Antron Pearson was shot by police when he refused to drop a gun he was wielding AT Broadway Joe's.
And if anyone believes he didn't have a gun on him, well...the police were standing right NEXT to the piece alongside him (that had suffered a stovepipe jam)...I'm just sayin'...
He sure wasn't "clearing it for a friend".
EVIDENCE always trumps FEELINGS...remember that.
*** If you attempted to drive along I-69 yesterday...bet'cha wished you stayed the hell home, right?
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120120/LOCAL07/301209978
(this story involves ALL the accidents including the one mentioned below)
Yes...back to that nasty weather we had yesterday...and it was claiming novice and veterans alike on the roads.
The ONE major stack-up along the Interstate happened when a truck that was hauling all the accumulated METH TRASH from all the busts around here, of course, and it was being transported...(you're gonna LOVE this)...to MICHIGAN...(poetic justice of a sort - ROFLMAO!) when it succumbed to the hazardous road conditions and crashed.
Now, with about 180 BARRELS of assorted meth trash, it wasn't the chemical composition of the spill that concerned everyone.
It was all the WORK that was needed to RECLAIM the barrels, RE tag them and RE classify all the assorted flotsam.
And naturally, you don't want passing motorists to "borrow" any of that sh*t, do you...so you have to establish a good, healthy PERIMETER to keep the curious away.
The REAL problem came with trying to get the SECOND truck on scene for pickup...it had to travel I-69 (whcih was closed)...a real CATCH-22 indeed, but after 5 hours, all was back to relative normal.
In all, 37 crashes and 24 slide-offs were reported by the Indiana Stateys yesterday, and that was JUST along our portion of I-69.
*** And that brings me to our finale for this week.
I have seen my share of "stuff" along our highways over the years, and been caught up in a couple situations.
And that was when you DIDN'T have all the on board distractions you do today.
I cannot imagine how some people manage to remain ALIVE on the roads with some of the sh*t they pull WHILE driving.
I am always harping about we need MORE FWPD PATROLS down here in my part of the ghettohood.
And I do that with GOOD reason.
On ANY given day, we have speeders by the dozen, folks with blown out something (headlights, tail lights, license plate bulbs...you name it), scores of people talking ON THE DAMN CELL PHONE...overuse of the "ghetto door bell" (HONKING incessantly...for the uninitiated), along with some who (on purpose) SLIDE their vehicles into a turn or gun it so they slide up or down a street, and that's just in SNOWY conditions...
The list goes on, and even after YEARS of reports and complaints to our quadrant captain, this type of behavior NEVER slows down, let alone stops at all. But it's different in OTHER parts of town...THEY don't HAVE to deal with such chronic problems, because the police in THEIR areas don't have to go from one call to the next all during their shifts. THOSE officers have the time to actually PATROL, and LOOK for suspicious actions.
Granted, once in a while you'll hear an officer noticing something hinky, and he investigates...sometimes with an arrest, but just as often, without one.
See, we have a more "hands-off" policy down here (so it seems). Command staff has to deal with the minority communities, and THOSE factions always bitch about "being pulled over for driving while black", or unfair treatment because of race...
(gimme a damn break)
We're pretty much EIGHTY PERCENT black down here and whites ONLY account for UNDER 10%, so the ODDS of randomly pulling over someone (with probable cause) who MAY be black are better than anything you could EVER get at the lottery counter...OR at any casino anywhere!
A LEO's chances of "winning" are stacked in favor OF the player (the officer) and NOT the "house" (the suspect).
That's simple mathematics, and if more of these kids would stay in school, THEY could figure it out just as easily.
I'll be busy figuring out WHAT the weather will be doing for the next 72 hours, and I sure you might be doing likewise if you live in NE Indiana.
Regardless of Nature's "fury", DO have yourselves a great weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-19T07:16:00.013-05:00

...Than A Bag Of Rocks...
We ALL know the BEGINNING of that saying, don't we?
(and it has nothing to do with the nice snowfall I'm watching come down in the Heartland today)
All you have to do is add whatever person or persons that are apropos to the specific situation.
Like: Her ex-husband was dumber than a bag of rocks.
Or: He's as lazy as a bag of rocks.
It's almost got an application for ANY situation.
It's one of those wonderful "universal" sayings.
It can fit any person at any time for any reason.
I often use it to describe certain TRUTHS about people.
(and Lord knows I've enough occasion to do so down here)
The NICE thing about a saying like this, is that it doesn't HAVE to apply to the blatantly stupid, or even the chronically stupid.
It can apply to that ONE shining moment where a person's stupidity has built up over time, and culminates into ONE, massive act OF...(you guessed it)...STUPIDITY.
And we have for your pleasure today, a few incidents of those "bags of rocks" that don't want to seem to go away or otherwise change their patterns of behavior.
*** First up on the "hit list", is this charming mother with an unusual way of housekeeping and parenting.
And I'm sure this will certainly appeal to all the REAL moms out there.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120119/LOCAL07/301199987
Now here we have yet ANOTHER case where the children are being abused.
Not sexually perhaps (that we know of), but DENIED the basics that are essential to normal living...
Like food...and cleanliness...and needed amenities like HEAT, or even a proper BED to sleep in.
BUT, she HAS a house...how the f$ck did THAT ever happen?
Bet she's got a set of wheels, too.
(and probably is a current member of the "Boyfriend of The Month" club in Fort Wayne)
Now, IF she is, in fact getting public assistance, WHERE the f$ck is it all GOING, because it sure as hell isn't going into the children's bellies OR into providing them a decent place to call home.
Cripes, the kids (and Mom) would be better off in some SHELTER, than on a residential street.
What I find REALLY amazing, is that, after ALL the "allegations" (read proof) to child "neglect" (read abuse) stemming from LAST MARCH, she is JUST NOW (yesterday) being charged...
"WTF???"
It takes TEN MONTHS to bring CHARGES to someone like this?
WHY?
Talk about bureaucracy...Jeezus!
And as of yesterday, Greene was NOT in custody...!
(You're f$cking KIDDING me, right?)
Not ONE person connected to this case with the FWPD, or CPS did ANY monitoring of this individual to make sure she wasn't going anywhere and COULD be found when (ten months later) someone decided to arrest her sorry ass?
Hell yeah...the system works...just not for anyone seeking JUSTICE.
It's no wonder the children had school attendance issues, and I'd wager the "tip" was most likely from a TEACHER of those kids.
(I say good for HER...at least SHE gave a damn)
And here is Greene's rap sheet:
------------------------------------------------
02D04-1107-CM-004452
NA GREENE, CHANDRA S 07/26/2011
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided 35-43-4-3(a)/MA: Conversion
02D04-1108-CM-005185 NA
NA GREENE, CHANDRA S 08/29/2011
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided 35-44-2-2(d)(1)/MB: False Informing
7.1-5-1-3/MB: Public Intoxication
(dismissed, but arrest warrant issued for failure to appear and contempt)
02D05-1201-FD-000062
GREENE, CHANDRA S 01/18/2012
Allen Superior Court 5 FD - Class D Felony
Pending 35-46-1-4(a)(1)/FD: Neglect Of Dependent-Depndnt Put In Situation Endangering Depndnts Life/Health
35-46-1-4(a)(1)/FD: Neglect Of Dependent-Depndnt Put In Situation Endangering Depndnts Life/Health
35-46-1-4(a)(1)/FD: Neglect Of Dependent-Depndnt Put In Situation Endangering Depndnts Life/Health
(warrant ordered with a $2500.00 bond - warrant for the body of a person issued)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Curiously enough, she listed TWO addresses within the same time period (must be nice to have TWO houses)
GREENE, CHANDRA S
4744 WINTER ST
Fort Wayne, IN 46806
GREENE, CHANDRA S
945 BUCHANAN ST
Fort Wayne, IN 46803
Another stellar citizen still on the streets, awaiting arrest...AGAIN.
Yep...dumber than a bag of rocks...'fo sho!
*** Obama nixes pipeline from Canada to Texas.
Now, when I heard THIS, I was actually yelling at the radio (and later the TV).
Are you freaking SERIOUS, Mr. President?
Are you FOR REAL?
You "want" energy independence in America, and yet, you pull THIS bonehead deal and then go and blame the (republican-controlled) House because they "didn't give YOU enough time to decide"?
I dunno...doesn't take you a helluva lotta time to DECIDE to go GOLFING, does it (for like the 77th time)?
Doesn't take you much time to RAM "Obamacare" down the throat of a nation that doesn't want it, right?
And it sure doesn't take YOU much time at all to get back to CAMPAIGNING instead of running this country (somewhere other than into the ground), does it?
You need to get this nation's REAL priorities straight, son...and PRONTO!
We are not going to create jobs by denying a pipeline project with a guarantee of tens of THOUSANDS of jobs that such a project will employ.
This ain't no new deal...it's more like a RAW DEAL, and Barry, you're leading this parade...straight off the damn cliff!
Anyone that thinks for a moment that AMERICA doesn't NEED more oil (that IS readily available a lot closer to home), or that we ALL need electric cars that catch fire (and use FOSSIL FUELS from power plants to create the electricity to CHARGE them DAILY) isn't playing with a full deck.
Maybe you might want to read up on WHAT (exactly) a President is SUPPOSED to do FOR his nation...and not TO it...just a thought.
*** Insider trading nets positive result.
But not in the way you think.
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120119/BIZ/301199973/1031/BIZ
While greed IS good...sometimes (it can lead to taking the money and GROWING businesses and even the economy), it does have it's DOWN side.
Around $78 MILLION bucks was tapped by inside trading on Wall St. when seven financial industry "professionals" (among others) triggered a SINGLE trade that made $53 million in profits.
(I guess Obama needs to get his re-election funding SOMEWHERE)
Shades of George Soros...(spooky dude)...LOL
So far, 63 have been arrested in connection with this case, and 56 have been convicted.
(yep...dumber than a bag of rocks...in the end)
Now, how many EXACTLY have been arrested or even CHARGED in that OPERATION FAST AND FURIOUS scandal...so far?
(...sound of crickets...)
Just as I thought...typical (let's divert the public's attention, and maybe they'll forget all about it)
*** Lastly today, we plainly see that imitating a bag of rocks isn't relegated to JUST the so-called poverty-stricken...or the mentally-unstable among us.
It's got this neat "trickle-up" effect...
You can be THE most powerful person in the country, and STILL have problems with something we call COMMON SENSE.
When you have people that DEPEND on you, whether you're a mother with children, or the leader of a nation, you ALWAYS have to realize that you have OTHERS that are depending on YOU making the right call, so that they will be secure, and able to live their lives like normal people should.
And we also see that this is not always the case.
Sure, people have priorities in life, but when you CHOOSE to accept a responsibility (like becoming a parent, or wanting to run a country), those priorities of YOURS are not as important as being accountable to everyone else who is in your charge.
THEY come first, and you're a little farther down that list.
When you have children that live in a household like the one mentioned above, it's no wonder they will grow up thinking that the way you get people to "comply" is to beat them up, or deny them life's necessitates, because it's all about YOU and what YOU want..
When you run a nation that is dependent upon fossil fuels, and you have the MEANS available now to take advantage OF those resources, you don't DENY them to the masses, because YOUR agenda comes first.
You suck it all up, get tough and get going to make things right for those that look up to you...that's what NORMAL people do.
Then, after it's all past, the kids grown, and the nation set to rights again...THEN, you can take care of you...but never before.
We need fewer bags of rocks in this world...that's for damn sure.
Therein lies the lesson for today.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America!

2012-01-18T06:57:00.019-05:00

Humpday Happenings...
Wednesday...already? (he said with trepidation)
Yepper...middle of the week, and depending on YOUR POV, it's either all DOWNHILL or UPHILL from here on out.
And if you didn't get out to Winchester Rd. at Jerry's Burger-Dairy for a FREE Powerball ticket...shame on you.
(...don't worry, I didn't either, so shame on me...lol)
Ah, well...the ODDS of nailing whatever amount is at stake were about 175,000,000 to ONE, anyway.
(I shoulda gone regardless...Jerry's always did have GREAT donuts...!)
Got a couple things I want to toss out there today, so get yourself comfortable.
*** Last night's season premiere episode of JUSTIFIED on FX was fantastic.
(and plenty of gunplay to satisfy the shooter in me)
I have to hand it to Raylan's boss (Art) in the Lexington, Kentucky U.S. Marshal's office.
He truly has the patience of a saint, and is well-schooled in human nature.
Kinda reminds me of a boss I once had.
Now, if these names are a might confusing, you need to watch the show, and get caught up.
The addition of Neal McDonough's character (from Detroit...of ALL places) is a great addition to the ensemble.
You might remember him from Star Trek: First Contact (Lt. Hawk), Band of Brothers (Lt. Buck Compton), or Tin Man (Sci-Fi channel).
He plays one smooth operator...kill you with his smile (literally, too).
*** Next up, a followup story on that house fire on Gaywood Drive.
(Get ready for me to be correct in my hunch, as I mentioned in my post yesterday)
Here's the link to the story from the Journal-Gazette:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120118/LOCAL07/301189978
I called that one...even if the story doesn't come out and MENTION scrappers...
Gas lines do NOT have a tendency to CUT THEMSELVES...never have...never will.
And this is becoming the status quo in the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE of Fort Wayne.
This is ALSO the result of what occurs when you have a bunch of DUMBASSES that simply cannot tell the DIFFERENCE between COPPER pipes (used for water) and CAST pipes (used for gas as well as waste lines)...!
Guess this is what happens when kids don't pay attention in school...they grow up STUPID.
(nice to know SOME things never change)
And anyone who IS a scrapper and worth his weight in recycled metals would (or SHOULD) know that every house has a CUTOFF valve inside the dwelling.
DUH!!!
(who knew?)
I can shut off EVERY utility in OUR house, because I KNOW where the shutoffs are located...ain't no big-ass secret, folks.
And every single one of YOU homeowners out there should ALSO know WHERE to shut off the water, gas and electricity, if you ever have to.
The landlord (after he was showing the place to prospective "renters") should have turned off the utilities when he left, but that would be the SMART thing to do, especially in an area that is RIPE for scrappers to hit.
I tell you this area is PRIME when it comes to the LACK of "critical thinking"...or thinking in GENERAL, for that matter.
Most people (down here) follow more instinctual behavior patterns...to hell with conventional reason or wisdom...and screw being knowledgeable.
That's not in THEIR genes...trust me.
The WORST part about all this which wonderfully displays the PREDATORY nature of the BEASTS that roam around down here, is the fact that after the firefighters left, one of the neighboring houses that ALSO had it's utilities shut off was BURGLARIZED.
You heard me right.
Goes to show the blatant disrespect and utter arrogance of the person or persons that broke into the house immediately south of the demolished house at 4005 Gaywood Drive. And it shows that SOME "people" are ALWAYS watching YOUR house, as I have said here many times.
The idea is to "watch back"..let THEM know you see them, by whatever means it takes.
After all, it's YOUR money going to fund such "people" (read flawed welfare programs), because all THEY have to do all damn day is sit around and wait for an opportunity to arise, so they can get MORE sh*t for nothing...just like all the other sh*t they've BEEN getting...for free.
The entitlement mentality is what fosters a LOT of the types of crime we see down here...that's a given.
And the frequent inability of the FWPD command staff to properly address such issues bears that out.
Got too many officers "chasing the radio" when they SHOULD be patrolling to deter all that crime that's been occurring.
But it's not like I KNOW anything about all this kind of stuff.
(Nah, I just "live the adventure" every single day)
Lesson to be learned here?
NEVER take anything (or anyone) for granted...ever. Not in times like this.
*** Now, if you thought the word LAZY couldn't possibly have another definition...think AGAIN.
This story will test your resolve when it comes to having someone else do something FOR you:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/01/17/for-2-burger-king-will-come-to/
Yes, friends, no more having to get in the family car and DRIVE a few blocks to BK for that whopper...no, sir!
Now, they will bring it TO YOU (you couch-potato) for a nominal fee ($2).
This is ONLY a "test-run" to check the potential to make it nationwide.
And the FUNNY thing, is that BK is running this test in of ALL places...WASHINGTON, D.C.!!!
"WTF???"
That's right...where most ALL of the LAZIEST people live (politicians included), aside from other major cities with large inner-urban populations.
Cripes, if BK decides to do that near US, you won't be able to get down ANY freaking street...there'll be BK DELIVERY vehicles blocking them ALL, because my "locals" will want all that sh*t brought TO THEM (so they can watch your house while they chow down).
And naturally, there will be some ALLOWANCE to have this program FOODSTAMP-ELIGIBLE...you just wait and see.
Please, someone STOP the madness!
On the "up" side, we won't have AS MANY bikini-clad minorities jumping onto the counters, acting like animals and causing a ruckus when they don't think they got it "their way"...
And, it might actually make dining AT the local BK a more positive experience...without drugged-up morons tossing chairs at the staff (like I witnessed many years ago at the Southgate BK).
Now, tell me how this can be called PROGRESS again, 'cause I'm just NOT seeing it?
*** Been following this SOPA gig, and it's got me scratching my head.
And believe it or not, WIKI hasn't blacked THIS entry out...as seen here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
Online piracy...hey, I've been accused of something like that once...JUST once.
(and that was from copyrighted material I got from a site that did NOT have a copyright in place...go figure)
It's been settled, but it raises an interesting premise.
HOW does one define INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?
Does the estate of say...ALBERT EINSTEIN hold SOLE copyright to the whole "E=MC2" gig?
Do the descendants of Issac Newton hold copyright to EVERY apple tree or to GRAVITY itself?
I mean, all THAT is, in fact "intellectual property" of some sort, right?
It's ALSO universal law (in Physics).
While I do believe that if a person writes for a living (and we're talking CREATIVE writing, and not reporting the news), as well as COMPOSERS who WRITE MUSIC for a living, all of them DO have a right to OWN what is theirs.
As to art and photography...that can be a bit dicey.
The ORIGINALS should be copyrighted, but if a person wants to 'borrow" a digital picture (for no monetary gain) to make a point elsewhere, I say fine.
(free advertising for the "artist")
Now, you know that with the advent of such technological pursuits, something like THIS (SOPA) was inevitable.
We've had the Internet for HOW LONG?
And some folks are just getting around to addressing this issue NOW?
Guess this is what happens when you dump all this tech on people and then have nothing to back it up legally..until someone gets their undies in a bunch. Maybe the phrase needed here is THINK THINGS OUT...FIRST.
('ya think?)
*** Lastly today, we can plainly see how people can skirt the law (whether or not there is ever a law in place to begin with), and with such practices come certain responsibilities....or consequences.
Now I'm a firm believer that LAWS are ...for the LAW-LESS.
But there does come a time when a "law" is created that ONLY protects a very small minority of people (like a few), and basically negates the rights of everyone else.
Think of it like a graduation ceremony where a prayer is offered up for ALL the students (several hundred) and ONE atheist comes along and manages to BAN that prayer for the other several hundred kids that had NO damn issue with that prayer.
THAT'S the problem I see in America...the (very) few telling everyone ELSE how to live, behave, what we can or cannot do.
Didn't use to be that way...everyone was a LOT more tolerant...AND civil along those lines.
I attended my share of CATHOLIC church services, and being a Methodist, never included myself in certain aspects OF those services (communion, etc), BUT, I never protested to the Bishop that I felt like I was being discriminated against, because I was a CHRISTIAN and felt the CATHOLIC church needs to bend to MY beliefs, tossing THEIRS aside...that's just plain ridiculous to do that.
And I also think that it's in ALL our best interests if we ALL manage to "grow a larger pair", and allow our "skin" to become a might THICKER, and stop all this bickering and nonsensical rhetoric when it comes to crying wolf.
Because sooner or later, when the wolf actually DOES come along, no one will be paying attention...no matter WHO cries...and for how long.
Just something to think about.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-17T08:31:00.010-05:00

Where There's Thunder...
There usually is lightning...or at least a 155mm artillery barrage going on somewhere closer than it should be.
Here we are in mid-January, with thundershowers starting off the day...how "Spring-like".
At least it masks out the morons in those boomcars...they hate this weather (something about high humidity, speaker vibrations and possible damage to their "junk in the trunk"...whatever). It works for me.
This rain is going to wash away the salt on the roads and the snow we recently got, JUST in time to get more snow later this evening.
Naturally, you can hear a few accidents on the highways, because SOME folks can't quite get a handle on inclement weather of ANY type...and the (amended) shape of the vehicle they drive speaks to that.
There should be some sort of technology on their vehicle that disallows the vehicle to START in ANY weather BUT nice, clear, dry conditions...
That way, the rest of us can get where WE'RE going with a lot less angst.
Now THAT would be a much better use of technology then those iPod docks, DVD players, GPS and other assorted crap that takes up space and weight on our cars, vans, and SUVs...right?
But the infrequent thunder-clap in the sky isn't the ONLY thunder around...
*** How's about that GOP debate last evening?
(Hey, I can hear 'ya YAWNIN' out there...knock it off...LOL)
Now THAT was a pretty decent dog & pony show...for a change.
Aside from the obvious jabs at one another, there was some really good ideas floating around in South Carolina.
Like I stated before, EVERY candidate has at last ONE good idea going for them, and if you could somehow MELD all of them into ONE, definitive candidate, you'd have a REAL WINNER...and we're talking landslide victory in November here.
Now, while I was watching the on stage "thunder", I was ALSO watching the premiere of a new show on the FOX channel...titled ALCATRAZ.
*** This show is marvelously enigmatic in nature, and a LOT of the plot is being deliberately held back to make us wonder WTF is going on...and I like that kind of challenge to the viewer.
You can speculate until the prisoners return to their cells, and you might never come close to the WHYS about this show.
Sam Neill heads the cast, and I've been a fan of his since the PBS series Reilly - Ace of Spies. (yeah, that goes back a few years)
Hell of an actor in any role, but he heads up this "group" of people that are finding out that about 302 prisoners that were SUPPOSED to be transferred from Alcatraz when it closed back in 1963, never REALLY were. Records were changed to show they were transferred or died in jail, but somehow, these prisoners are showing back UP...on our streets...TODAY.
Funny thing is, they haven't AGED one day since their "transfer" back in '63...curious, huh?
And these criminals are picking up right where they left off as far as crime goes...
It's Sam Neill's job to hunt them down, and bring them to a secret facility (somewhere) where they can be RE-incarcerated, and have Neill discover what happened to them and HOW they got HERE at this time, as well as WHO is behind this "experiment".
But Alcatraz itself is not what it appears to be, either.
Deep UNDER the facility is something akin to (what one cohort says is) the BATCAVE...scads of electronic surveillance tech and historical databases out the wazoo to assist in finding these 302 inmates and get them put away AGAIN (for good).
It's got pieces of Warehouse 13 in it (another really decent show on Sci-Fi), and plenty of speculation about the possibilities of life-extension, or time travel and wormholes to keep the inner geek in us watching.
I give it TWO thumbs up (for intrigue alone).
*** But wait, there's more to watch, especially TONIGHT.
Yes, friends, this evening, the season premiere of (one of my "must-see" shows) JUSTIFIED comes on FX (10PM Eastern).
Now, I like my law-enforcement officers a bit less perfect (in their lives) and a lot more accurate (when it comes to shooting perps), and this show delivered from day one.
Timothy Olyphant does a great job as Raylan Givens, a U.S. Marshal assigned to the Harlan County area of Kentucky.
His character is based on the works of crime novelist Elmore Leonard.
Let's just say I like Raylan's "style"...smooth when needed, and blunt when required.
Another must watch for me tonight.
*** I'm not going to belabor that cruise ship sinking off the coast of Tuscany...we've all seen a lot of it since it happened.
Allegations of misconduct and lapses of maritime procedures make the case well enough.
With 4200+ people on board, one would THINK that safety would trump everything else.
And one would ALSO think that the CAPTAIN would in fact be the LAST PERSON to leave the stricken vessel.
Such was not the case here...(coward).
That boy won't even be able to captain a sailboat in a bathtub after THIS fiasco!
The GOOD news is that the ship has sunk as far as it will, given the depth of the water and the proximity of land.
If this would have happened in DEEP water...then we'd have another Andrea Doria on our hands.
Still, you'd like to believe that after ALL these years since both the Doria and the Titanic sinkings, that hull design would have come just a wee bit farther. But I guess when you tear a 160 ft. long HOLE beneath the waterline, not much you can do but practice your breast stroke.
People heard a loud boom on the ship...yeah, smacking rocks with a huge ship will tend to sound sort of like that.
Kinda like...THUNDER.
*** And while we're still on the subject, there's this:
The neighbors in the 4000 block of Gaywood Drive on the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE of Fort Wayne were awakened by thunder of a different sort early this morning...
Here's the link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/house-explodes-on-gaywood-dr-other-houses-also-catch-fire
Now, I'm no fire investigation expert, but I do know that houses just don't up and go BOOM! for no damn reason at all.
Most every time, they need a little "help".
And usually, that help consists of someone SCRAPPING the pipes and other metals from the house.
Now, since the house was VACANT, that reinforces that supposition even more, especially when people don't really pay attention as to WHO is coming and going from the neighborhood that doesn't live there or otherwise BELONG in that area.
And that's why I maintain LISTS...I know WHO lives around here, and who DOES NOT, and even the vehicles they drive.
With several vacant houses in MY block, you bet your ass I'm keeping watch to comings and goings.
I submit reports to our quadrant captain monthly, but I don't know HOW effective that is after if gets to her "in box".
I do it to keep a RECORD of what steps I take...in case anything DOES happen (like a house going BOOM for no reason).
Didn't look like that house had been boarded up, and that tells me easy access for a potential scrapper (or four).
Like I say...something ALWAYS going on down here in the crotch of Fort Wayne. And too many that can actually DO something about it don't even seem to care... (right, Mayor Henry...Glynn Hines...Rusty York?...just to name a few)
*** Lastly today, there ARE all types of thunder that we face in our lives.
Many times, we are part of that thunderous applause for a great performance, or it can be a sermon that resounds in our hearts like thunder.
It can be the idiotic cacophony of the local boomcar boyz, or as musically tumultuous as the finale to the 1812 overture.
And like nature's thunder, much of those other types of "thunder" serve a purpose.
Without purpose, it's just random noise (like those boomcars).
Such aspects of our lives that we often overlook SHOULD have purpose, and most times, they do, even without us knowing about it.
The smallest item in our life can have the greatest impact...doesn't have to be BIG to be great, right?
And I think that the next time you hear thunder in the sky, it might remind you to think on those little things in your life, and how much they affect every one of us. Sometimes, it takes nature's "volume control" to allow us to appreciate the "music" that's being played.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

2012-01-16T06:39:00.013-05:00

Monday Musings...
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day, is a federally recognized holiday, and is traditionally observed on the third Monday of January (King's birthday was 15 January).
As such, this falls under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which preceded this observance by some fifteen years.
The day was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, and was first observed in 1986.
The holiday was actually first promoted by LABOR UNIONS in contract negotiations.
The bill that Reagan signed was proposed by representative Katie Hall of INDIANA.
Senator Jesse Helms (R -NC) initially opposed the idea stating that it went against protocol for a national observance for a person who (he claimed) was opposed to the Vietnam war and a "Marxist".
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) also voted against establishing the day as a holiday to honor King. McCain later reversed his position.
All this waffling caused the state of Arizona (who replaced Columbus Day with MLK day, pissing off the Italians living here) close to $500 MILLION in funding, but ti also cost them the SUPER BOWL (which was played in Pasadena that year). Gotta have SPORTS and be entertained, don't we?
You can read more about how other states dealt with the recognition of this day here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._Day
I just gave you the nuts & bolts of the beginnings of today.
And for more on Dr. King himself, here's this WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.
Now, you have to acknowledge that Dr. King WAS a pivotal figure in the history of America, and comparisons to people like Gandhi are obvious.
Personally, I have always taken to heart the messages that Dr. King spoke about with such passion and conviction.
And, yes, he wasn't a "perfect" individual either, but then again, who among us truly IS?
But he had a message ...and it was for EVERYONE, and NOT just for the black community.
I think it's EXTREMELY important that we always remember that.
While he was indeed a champion for Civil Rights for blacks in America, the underlying theme was a UNIFYING one...bringing ALL people of every race into ONE society, and that's meaning NOT in a socialistic manner, but by peace, a willingness to work TOGETHER, and through God's grace.
It's here that I think the message has more meaning...the reliance upon GOD to see us ALL through (those) turbulent times, allowing HIS love to shine through. King was only a messenger here, but what a great message he delivered to us all.
Now...fast forward a few decades...
King is but a memory to many (it's another day off...yippee), and all but unknown to others who have been born long after his untimely death.
The message is still around, but who is there to remind us about it?
Well, they recently dedicated a memorial statue to Dr. King, and had to rework the words carved upon the stone, because the paraphrase did not PROPERLY convey WHO Dr. King was and what he stood for.
If you ask me, I personally think the stature doesn't do Dr. King justice AT ALL.
I would have MUCH more preferred a statue in BRONZE, and not stone, and it should have been a full figure, and not a partial figure attached to uncut stone, as the one they have is.
The face doesn't capture the emotion of Dr. King, either...hardly looks like him at all.
But hey, "you get what you pay for" these days...I just feel that more thought should have gone into such a memorial tribute.
(yeah, I'm only a middle-aged WHITE guy - what the hell would *I* ever know about anything or anyone BLACK, right?)
Well, I obviously know a LOT more about the black experience than MANY blacks do today, and that's because of a desire to understand my fellow man (as Dr. King would have preferred). I took the risk of educating myself to have the knowledge and the wisdom to comprehend things.
If you grew up in the era of Dr. King, and then look around you today, you see the black community in shambles, societally-speaking.
Those that HAVE taken Dr. King's teachings to heart have moved on, and away (to become better people) from what troubles too many of the blacks in America today.
Dr. King would never want hand outs to his people, when they can just as easily get a HAND UP from a caring soul.
And Dr. King would never want his people to become MORE "equal" than everyone else, just because they're black.
The color of one's skin was NEVER to be at the bottom of any issue, but rather the content of one's character, as Dr; King once said.
And that's the way people are to be judged...period.
A person's CHARACTER will show to you much about that person...more than the color of their skin, and that's the way I take people...one at a time.
The content of their character will tell ME all I need to know.
That is why I will divide the black community into TWO distinct groups.
The ones I would treat as a friend...someone I could call "brother" and would help in a heartbeat, and those who have taken Dr. King's "dream" and pissed it all up against the nearest wall. And we all know by which name the latter are called.
Today's (urban) black experience consists of things which would be anathema to Dr. King and what he believed.
The squalor that blacks allow themselves to live in, the depravity and substance abuse that is so very rampant in cities, along with the criminal gangs and increasing murder rates all bear out the fact that something is horrendously WRONG with these people.
The levels of violent behavior (toward other races as well as THEIR OWN), the thefts from anyone and everyone, the blatant disrespect for ALL authority, and the ignorance and apathy attuned to a sub-culture that operates by it's OWN set of rules and "laws", outside society (ask ANY police officer on this one) within the black community serves NO useful purpose and says nothing about anyone's "civil rights".
If anything, such behavior DENIES those same rights to others, and yet we now call that cultural diversity...
(and that would take a few more posts to explain all that stuff)
Yeah, I'm a white man, and I'm calling out the black community for NOT living up to, nor pursuing the DREAM that Dr. King envisioned.
And were Dr. King alive, he would be doing likewise...only MORE so!
I'm no better than any other man, but I KNOW what's right.
I have learned what is important in life, and I do believe in the messages that Dr. King spoke about.
If such important words can apply to me, they sure as hell can apply to every other man, woman or child, especially if their skin color is different from mine. And maybe, it's high time these black community "leaders" got BACK behind their pulpits and preached such good and noble words, instead of inciting civil unrest so they can make a few bucks along the way.
God is not scorned, and I have a feeling many of these religious men will find that out, if not in THIS life, then in the next one for sure.
So, remember Dr. King...remember the man, and even though the man passes from us, the BELIEFS and WORDS carry on far longer.
Such ideas...such concepts are what we all need to cling to.
I'll leave you with a few quotes of Dr. King...just for something to think about.
--I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.
--Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
--Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
--Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education.
--I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Have a great week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

2012-01-13T08:16:00.017-05:00

Friday (the thirteenth) Follies...
Yes, friends, today is the FIRST of THREE (count 'em, 3) of this particular type of Friday this year...if you're keeping track (and that rabbit's foot nearby) .
And here in the Heartland...we have SNOW...the nice dry, small-flaked BLOWING kind.
Most roads ARE passable (if you practice something I like to call CAUTION), and FWCS kids have the day "off".
That's because it's a teacher workday, which means ONLY the educators HAVE to go in (it's frowned on if you miss, no matter WHAT kind of weather we have). Every other school system in the surrounding areas are either CLOSED...OR on a TWO HOUR DELAY.
Mrs. Bobby G. said it best when she remarked: "We're considered expendable."
Excuse me?
If ANYTHING, the TEACHERS should be revered a helluva lot more than they are, because of all the "stuff" they have to put up with from both the unruly minions of mayhem darkening their classroom doors AS WELL AS the administration with much of the "politicking" they like to pull.
In any event, driving should be less problematic...(I've been through a LOT worse, and a lot more frequently).
The snow is expected to die out today, but temps will continue in the mid 20s, so whatever snow we have ain't goin' anywhere soon.
With that said, let's take a gander at all the dumbstuff that's been occurring while the snow's been falling, because this post is packed tighter than ten pounds of crap in a five pound bag.
So, strap yourselves in (especially if you're into fetishes - handcuffs are optional).
*** Fort Wayne has it's very own case of TB.
A FWCS student at Anthis Career center has been diagnosed with an MDR form of tuberculosis.
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120113/LOCAL/301139977
Now THIS strain of bacteria will most likely result in a LONG recuperative time (up to over TWO years - I do know a few things about medical stuff), and might even require surgery to remove the infected part of the lung. Guess this is what can happen whenever kids are NOT PROPERLY INOCULATED.
You wouldn't see this in my day..everyone got their shots and tests...no discussion, and NO exceptions.
*** A "happy" ending to the Stolen Police Cruiser "saga":
http://www.wane.com/dpps/news/strange/man-accused-of-stealing-ind-police-car-caught-ob12-jgr_4038960
Yep, Billy turned himself into authorities after two days (moron).
Guess being COLD and ON THE LAM wasn't as appealing as having "3 hots and a cot" at the local hoosegow, hmm?
Nice job you did on that CRUISER, too...
We call that RESTITUTION, in case you were wondering...so get ready to PAY UP.
Now, how's about that nice HOT cup of JUSTICE, you dumbass? Taste good?
Enjoy your stay in jail, Billy Boy...you have certainly EARNED it!
*** A followup on that Burmese man facing murder charges:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120113/LOCAL03/301139969
Looks like NYUNT SHWE might have to take up FENG SHUI...he's gonna have PLENTY of time in jail!
THIS is what happens when you "import" people who have NO idea what it's like to live in a society with RULES.
They can't behave themselves, BUT, they sure can find ways to buy liquor and then stab and beat one another, can't they?
See 'ya...wouldn't wanna BE 'ya, Bub!
*** Did you know that in Fort Wayne, you can actually make an APPOINTMENT to get arrested?
Well, here's the proof:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120113/LOCAL07/301139934/1002/LOCAL
So, a man sets up a time to be at a KARATE school, and then has the utter stupidity to smack the INSTRUCTOR in the face, probably NOT expecting to be DETAINED until the po-po arrives...!?!
That's what went down (along with the attacker).
Lesson here?
NEVER cross the sensei of the local dojo when you don't know sh*t about martial arts, and then hope to just walk the hell away.
That dog just ain't gonna hunt, people. (idiot)
*** Another business robbery on the (...all together, gang...) SOUTH side of Fort Wayne:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120113/LOCAL07/301139932/1002/LOCAL
At least it was on the southWEST side...guess the societal cancer called CRIME is deciding to SPREAD OUT just a bit...wonder WHY?
('cause there's hardly any businesses LEFT on the southEAST side worth robbing, Bob)
Yeah, that's gotta be it.
At least the CSIs got a nice palm print AND two CITILINK bus tickets the perps dropped.
And who said that the city's public transit system wasn't good for anything?
Betcha it made the "getaway" a bit lengthy, though ("that muthaf$ckin' bus be TWO minutes late, dammit...we gots ta go NOW!").
*** If the roads aren't already BAD enough...there's THIS little gem:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120113/LOCAL07/301139933/1002/LOCAL
Charles J. Whalen, Jr. 46, of 1835 Glenlivet Court was charged yesterday with three MISDEMEANORS.
1) Operating a vehicle while intoxicated
2) Operating a vehicle with a controlled substance or it's metabolite in his body
3) Resisting law enforcement.
Well, that's what happens when you drive erratically, sideswipe a concrete median, and lose two tires from the stop-sticks that were thrown down when you refuse to stop.
The jerk posted $4000 bail and is probably back BEHIND THE WHEEL of another vehicle...that's the way the "system" works here.
I've seen it first-hand...no REAL punishment doled out for placing every citizen in this city AT-RISK due to HIS behavior.
He IS also looking at a pending FELONY for resisting and using a vehicle to commit an offense.
Time to find a way to SHAME this person...how about a SIGN.
And he can walk in front of the COURT HOUSE...for a week!
*** Auto Parts Shop and Yard up in smoke (and flames)
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120113/LOCAL07/301139935/1043/LOCAL07
I was listening to this on the scanner yesterday, and it was initially tackled as an OFFENSIVE fight against the fire, but after concerns about building integrity surfaced, it turned into a DEFENSIVE posture by the local smoke-eaters.
Good thing too, as the ceiling was completely encased by fire and was raining down inside. Propane tanks and chemicals didn't make the job ANY easier.
The 2020 Import Auto parts place on S. Anthony (near the train tracks) is a complete write off, as were four vehicle inside.
The fire started when a cutting torch set off the fuel from a ruptured line on a vehicle that was on a lift
Now, call me silly here, but ANY time you have to use a torch (cutting OR welding) on ANY vehicle, you ALWAYS make sure to have any and all FLUIDS drained...because they like to burn, or otherwise go BOOM when ignited.
Even gasoline FUMES trapped in an EMPTY tank can explode with concussive results...know someone that got their bell rung in such a manner, and THEY took precautions.
What I found kinda weird, was that I didn't see MANY import cars around...?!?
Be funny as hell if the business turned out to be a cover for a chop-shop, or purchased parts FROM chop shops around town...poetic justice I believe is the term one might use.
*** Think Detroit can't get ANY worse? Think again...
http://www.newser.com/article/d9s7odb00/detroit-cuts-police-precincts-to-business-hours-in-effort-to-put-more-officers-on-patrol.html
The cost-cutting measure is designed to have more officers on the street, rather than in precinct houses between "business hours".
I think we need ROBOCOP to sort this one out, because it sure looks like that city is following the example set in the movie.
*** A Pool sign? Discriminatory? How So?
Here's the story:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/white-only-pool-sign-discriminatory-not-decorative-commission-rules/
Good thing we have ALL these so-called "watchdogs", making sure people don't put up signs prohibiting folks with a gallon of jeri-curl in their hair to jump into a pool, mucking up the water and turning it all cloudy...right?
Um, lemme say this much - a PUBLIC pool (even at an apartment complex) is NOT a place to CLEAN ONE'S HAIR...nor is it a URINAL.
it's there to be ENJOYED...NOT abused, got it?
Perhaps the person who placed the sign used poor judgment with the wording, but how many WHITES have enough crap on and in their hair that when they dive INTO a pool...an OIL SLICK surfaces, and the EPA comes out with a BOOM to keep it from spreading?
I'm just sayin'...and what about the OTTERS...!!!
*** 911 is asking for a few good BUCKS (of the monetary kind)
Seems Indiana is hurting for cash to run the 911 centers, because of the TYPE of phones being used these days.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700214844/Indiana-county-leaders-worried-over-911-funding.html
County leaders are looking at the manner 911 is funded, because traditional LANDLINES have a $3 charge attached to them for 911, but CELL PHONES only have a $.50 charge, ergo the lack of moolah!
Okay, I'll handle this problem REAL easy...START CHARGING $3 across the BOARD...period!
Doesn't matter WHAT TYPE OF PHONE you have...pay up...$3.00, kapeesh?
(problem solved)
They should have come to ME first....LOL.
*** Lastly today, it's FRIDAY THE 13th...big whoop, right?
I don't really IGNORE such superstitions, I just place them all in their proper context, and offer them a smattering of respect.
There is very little in life that you CAN ignore (like stupid-ass people...always have time to ignore THEM...I MAKE the time...lol), and sometimes, when we do gloss over things, THAT is when we get "bit in the butt" by it, whatever it might be.
American Indians believe in striking a harmony with creation, and that's not a bad idea...they respect the land, and nature in general.
They know their place in the scheme of things.
Would it be that WE can say as much.
Now, I'm NOT saying you walk under a ladder and test the theory of bad luck...not at all.
You just have to know that luck is dependent upon coincidence...and rarely due to fact.
"Luck" can be based in experience...the MORE you know, the less likely that something BAD will result from such knowledge.
So, you got the GOOD side covered.
Bad things will always happen to GOOD people...that's one of life's ironies.
And the sooner we KNOW that, and not only learn from such experiences, but move ON afterward, the better we become.
We're not lucky because of such things...just a little more FORTUNATE.
Remember that.
Have yourselves a great weekend...drive carefully and take your time.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-12T08:21:00.007-05:00

We're Getting There...
One day away from the weekend...finally.
Today's heartland weather will be snow later today, followed by some more snow, tapering off to less snow by sunrise tomorrow, and since it will be cloudy and probably still snowing a bit,

God knows when we'll actually see the sun or a cure to the now once-again RISING gas prices in Fort Wayne, so your guess will be as good as mine.
Just be thankful we're not staring at ALL that snow they've been hit with in Cordova, Alaska, right?
So, without any further delay, let's get cracking at what's been going on...
*** A followup story for yesterday's Fort Wayne water rate hike.
Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120112/LOCAL/301129981
Now, you have to remember some important things about THIS rate hike.
1) The LAST rate hike was back in 2006 (as mentioned yesterday by me), and THAT one was about 25%.
2) The rate hike THIS time around (the 40% add-on) makes a total of 65%! (when it goes into effect around 2013-2014, should it pass state and local "bosses" )
3) The media mentions that a small family that uses 5000 gals. per month will see their charge go from say $17 (and change) to close to $24 (and change).
4) One reason stated for the increase is that people are using LESS water (thanks to those more efficient fixtures we're stuck with).
5) The rate hike will (should?) affect ONLY the USAGE portion of your bill - ALL the other charges will also remain on the bill (and in likelihood also rise accordingly, knowing HOW these people operate).
Now, we here at the fortress are rather frugal with our water...we use around (little less than) 3000 gallons per month (that covers everything, too), and we realize that in many ways, it's MORE precious than gasoline.
(PLUS, I've seen the movie DUNE enough times over the years to know as much...lol)
The single LARGEST charge on OUR bill (yours also) therefore, is NOT the usage rate...it's the SEWER CONSUMPTION USAGE.
THAT rate is almost four times HIGHER than mere water usage.
Hell, even the SERVICE FEE is greater than our usage, with the SEWER BILLING FEE slightly lower.
Yeah, it DOES all ADD UP.
Also, the storm charges and garbage & recycling fees are added into this bill, but we're pretty much STATIC with those amounts.
So, we pay somewhere around $45+ a month...right now.
If the USAGE fee (only) almost DOUBLES, that will only raise the bill another $6 a month...BUT (and listen for that "other shoe" that might drop)...IF the city does a wholesale hike ACROSS THE BOARD, then our bill will jump close to $90 a month!!!
(Your mileage and cost may vary)
It hasn't been clear by any statements made BY the city as to WHICH part of our bill WILL take the hike. At least I haven't seen it so far.
Be real nice of someone (with a little pull) would ASK such questions of the city utilities...just so we, the PAYING customers know...that's all.
*** More on that stolen police car in Kouts, Indiana...
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120112/NEWS07/301129959
Well, at last the perp didn't get to the WEAPONS in the cruiser, right?
Doesn't say whether he even got the handcuffs off, either.
But Billy Blankenship IS, however still "in the wind" as we used to say.
Investigators are pondering HOW the cruiser wound up in a drainage ditch...
(...long silent pause for effect...)
You're kidding me, right?
Two possibilities:
1) It was driven in there on purpose.
2) It went off the road by accident and wound up there.
There, I solved THAT much of the "investigation" for you guys,...now get to work tracking this car thief down, OK?
Kinda makes Andy of Mayberry seem like the FBI with such nonsense.
*** Did anyone catch that story about HOSTESS having to file for BANKRUPTCY (protection)?
Here's a link:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2012-01-11/hostess-bankruptcy-twinkies-wonder-bread/52495162/1
Now, I admit that I'm not a big fan of Twinkies...BUT I love damn near everything else they make.
(coffee cakes and ho ho's are pretty decent, considering that NO ONE in Indiana has anything CLOSE to either TASTYKAKES or DRAKE'S CAKES...arrggh!!!) Talk about forced withdrawal.
I will say that Twinkies seem to last FOREVER (note to all you impending apocalypse followers), and when they DO get stale, you can probably use them as bullet-resistant insulation for your house.
I much prefer Entenmann's chocolate donuts (and lots of 'em).
I don't really think Twinkies will go away ANY time soon, in spite of what Michelle (ma belle) Obama would WANT (read demand) of her followers.
Sorry dear...I'm keeping my guns, my bible, my freedom...AND my ding dongs!
*** Lastly today, I thought you'd be interested to see an article that mirrors a lot of what I ended yesterday's post with...namely "turning it all off" once in a while. The story had me smiling for a time, because being right a lot never gets old (unlike damn near everything else, including ME)
Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120112/FEAT/301129994
Yeah, it's the whole "stopping to smell the roses gig", just in a different package. I didn't know they had a NATIONAL UNPLUG DAY, either...did you?
It's March 23 and 24...well then, that would make it TWO days and not ONE, right?
Now, if they begin at NOON, and run 24 hours, that would make sense to me.
(and at least I could still get in my blog post...lol)
They call it DIGITAL DETOX...(wonder if they have a 12-step plan to go with that?)
And one author says pretty much the SAME things I have...I just didn't find enough time to write a book about it, make a crapload of money, and move the hell away from the ghettohood.
But, aside from that, Kim John Payne (not to be confused with Kim Jong Il) and I are on the same page here.
I must admit I never check email while "on the throne"...or do anything online while occupied in like manners.
I much prefer reading a book, and NOT one on the working of my alimentary tract or Gray's Anatomy.
Truth be told, we all DO need time away from all this tech...you heard me say it often enough.
We have too much to process, and never enough time to do so.
Every week, something "new" comes out, and some flock to snatch it up.
Carmakers shove ALL this technocrap into our cars and then we all sit and wonder why the mileage never seems to rise appreciably.
(lose the tech, get back to basics and cars will get 40+ MPG..it's that damn simple)
I don't need an "assist" to PARK the damn car (like Ford has on some models).
Hell, parking (like driving) should be the sole responsibility OF THE DRIVER!
But, you understand the mess that all this stuff can get us into...if we permit it to do so.
I believe that as long as we never fully become THAT DEPENDENT upon all this stuff...we'll never miss it when we take a break from it...or even if it all goes away (which any EMP worth it's salt would do in a heartbeat).
Learn to rely on YOURSELF...FIRST and FOREMOST.
Let the tech roll on by, and if you HAVE to "buy into it", then do so with caution and never allow it to become an addiction.
We don't want to hear at the digital detox facility:
"Hello, my name is Bob...and I'm a technoholic."
( "Hi, Bob"... )
You make the right call...and YOU will do just fine.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-11T06:59:00.014-05:00

Humpday Happenings...
Welcome to a "transition day" in our weather patterns here in the Heartland (so says the local meteorologists). Today will be mild, ending in rain, which will turn over to snow, with temps dropping faster than Tiffany stocks on Wall St. The low for tonight will very likely be the HIGH for tomorrow.
And that's not to be confused with the "high" most all the locals manage to obtain.
With that said, let's get rolling, because today's post has MORE links than a JIMMY DEAN sausage factory and is packed tighter than an ad for CURVY KATE brassieres.
(sigh - leave it to those Brits )
*** Item - This story is SO great is just HAS to be fattening:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/Teen-forced-to-wear-sign-as-punishment
Seems that we have a CONCERNED MOM (yes, there are some out there still) that took measures into her OWN hands when it came to discipline for her son.
She made him wear a SIGN that said:
I LIE - I STEAL - I SELL DRUGS - I DON'T FOLLOW THE LAW.

How novel is THAT?
I love it...SHAME these kids into obedience...THAT'S a damn good way to get them to straighten up and fly right.
Yet, this isn't the first time something like this was employed...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029105/Townsville-mother-makes-son-wear-humiliating-Im-thief-sign.html

Or THIS:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/tampa-mom-makes-son-wear-sign-announcing-122-gpa
Now, about bringing back the public DUNKING STOOL...and the PILLORY...or even better yet...take this idea to WASHINGTON, D.C.
(bwahahahahaha)
*** Item - Looks like Fort Wayne needs more of YOUR money...again.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120111/LOCAL/301119986
I love the "irony" of the story title...city FLOATS water rate hike...LOL
We're looking at a FORTY-F$CKING-PERCENT jump...that's nothing to piss (and then flush) at, folks!
The rate hike (if approved) will not go into effect until 2013 (good, that leaves plenty of time to SAVE or look for somewhere ELSE to move to.)
The last rate hike was 2006, after the Indiana Utility Commission approved a 25% hike.
Increased expenses are to blame for the rate hike proposal (guess those UNIONS aren't getting enough to pay for the bosses to take adequate vacations in the Caribbean)
Cripes, at this rate, water will cost MORE than gasoline...or is that ALL part of that "master plan"?
*** Item - Alaska town is in need.
And the LAST thing that Cordova, Alaska needs right now is MORE SNOW...but they're getting it (again).
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120111/APA/1201110599
What this town DOES need are SHOVELS...and LOTS OF THEM...pronto!
People have been checking the major cities in hope of finding the elusive implements.
They called out the National Guard to help with snow removal (so you know it's BAD).
Four businesses and two homes have been damaged so far by all that snow.
Highways been been victims of avalanches and are still closed.
Sure hope no one is living near anyone named DONNER!
*** Item - Some of that SPECIAL kind of Stupid:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120111/NEWS13/120119935/1066/NEWS03
When you're in handcuffs, and feel the need to STEAL the cruiser you've just been placed into, it's really NOT a smart thing to use the on board RADIO to ask WHERE the handcuff keys are...as well as the cigarette lighter.
That's EXACTLY what this bone-headed perp did in Kouts, Indiana (NW part of the state).
William Francis Blankenship is still on the lam, according to authorities.
The cruiser is the ONLY ONE for that town, and DOES have loaded weapons (in the trunk).
Maybe, someone should NOT have left the KEYS in the ignition?
(just a thought)
((Update - 1330hrs - The cruiser was reported found in LaPorte County, wrecked and under water. Gonna need another cruiser, gang!))
*** Item - MORE of that SPECIAL kind of Stupid:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120110/NEWS13/120119978/1066/NEWS03
Looking for a way to get a vacation to Sunny Costa Rica?
Well, one "creative" NYC school employee found one...
Fake your child's DEATH!
(hey, I don't make this stuff up)
She told her (now former) employer her daughter died in Costa Rica, and needed 2 1/2 weeks to take care of business down there.
(yeah right)
The death certificate was FORGED, and Costa Rican authorities corroborated that the document was a FAKE.
Can YOU say..."OOPS"?
*** Item - Help, we need an Interpreter...!
The wrong man killed a member of the Fort Wayne Burmese community last year...apparently.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120111/LOCAL03/301119981/1002/LOCAL
Aung Win stabbed a man back in April 2011, and hours later was dead at the hands of another Burmese.
Nyunt Shwe was initially arrested for the crime (a pestle was used to kill Aung Win)
Now, Nyunt Shwe's attorney says that it was Thein Oo who struck the fatal blow to Aung Win, and NOT his client.
(With me SO far?)
Aung Win stabbed Thein Oo, and Aung Win was killed NOT by Nyunt Shwe, but by Thein Oo, and we need people with PROPER names...WHY (again)? And tell them to stop spitting all over the place...that's disgusting!
OY VEY...!!!
(NO, that's NOT a cousin of Aung Win, OR Nyunt Shwe, OR Thein Oo...sheesh!)
*** Item - More tech comes to our "fortress"...
Had a misbehaving MOUSE (not the one I expansion-foamed into the wall), so I decided to purchase an OPTICAL mouse (no ball).
Tell you one thing...that bugger is RESPONSIVE (a lot more so than ANY city official or department...lol).
No ball means no more "schmutz" gumming up the rollers inside (that have to be cleaned periodically).
I had to actually SLOW DOWN the speed of the pointer so I wouldn't keep overshooting everything.
And it ONLY cost $5 (from China, who makes almost every damn thing we have in our houses) on eBay!!!
It's still a WIRED mouse, and not a USB version (one step at a time for good old Bob).
I showed Mrs. Bobby G. the new mouse, and she told me she ALREADY uses one AT SCHOOL...
(thanks, Hon - burst THAT bubble)
So, I ordered HER one for the other system...again..for UNDER FIVE BUCKS.
*** Lastly today, we've clearly seen the vicissitudes that life brings, along with the stupidity that often accompanies those who pursue things in life that are other than expected behaviors.
And I learned to grudgingly embrace another piece of technology...
That isn't to say I'm ready to tech the hell out...no way.
I like much of the simplicities of life...the simpler, the better.
I hate when things become over-thought, over-worked, and over-applied....it takes away from US...the PEOPLE.
Life is too short to waste away on items alleged to "make our lives easier", when in fact, they cause more harm than good...because we have to REPLACE them, or UPGRADE them on too regular a basis...all that crap ain't coming for free.
Life should have some of that marvelous DOWN TIME...when we "turn it all off" for a spell, kick back, and enjoy creation that's all around us.
Maybe we put on some music, curl up with a book, or even rub our local "lap cat" (or dog).
We need to step away from things...and get more in touch with US.
'Nuff said about that, then.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-10T07:03:00.011-05:00

It's the End Of The World...
Nah, I'm just messin' with 'ya, but you have to admit we're seeing our share of WEIRD out there.
And there are those of us who seem to handle weird better than others.
Let it be said that I don't go LOOKING for weird...it just happens to wander into MY space from time to time.
I equate weird to trouble...eventually, it WILL find YOU, so don't bother hiding from it.
This hearkens back to that whole PREPAREDNESS thing I spoke on a while ago...
If you come to "expect" it, it won't seem as bad when you're staring it in the face, rather than having it sneak up from behind and tap you on the shoulder.
You can't seem to pick up the paper or turn on the news and NOT hear of a situation that just REEKS of something "out of place" in the world.
Look at OUR economy (and much of the rest of the world for that matter)...in some pretty neat shambles.
Then there's the weather...we ALWAYS have weather.
In the Houston area, they're being deluged with damn near MONSOON rainfall (thought that only happened in the far east?)...or that EIGHTEEN FEET of snow they have in ALASKA...(that's a helluva LOT of snow...for anyone)...or how about the droughts in other parts of Texas last year, or the tornadoes in Joplin, the earthquakes around the world, the volcanoes, and the occasional tsunami...hell, it's enough to make you want to crawl under the bed and wait for "the end"...
But time and again, we see the resiliency of the species - the pulling together of the common people in assisting one another any way they can.
(how DO you shovel 18 feet of snow from the driveway anyway?)
I find it amazing that no matter WHAT the circumstance, people WILL help one another.
That's not to say that everyone always does, it's just that ENOUGH people STILL choose to help, and that says a lot for the human condition.
Whenever a people face a problem be it starvation, Mother Nature's fury, or something man made that causes an upheavel in our everyday lives, there always seems to be some sort of polarization of the populace.
There ARE those who will immediately begin to assist in any capacity they can...AND there are those who will ALSO immediately begin to prey on others. We wind up with a schism of sorts; a division of societal mores, if you will.
All one has to do is recall what went on in New Orleans during Katrina to figure that one out.
It's almost like disaster separates the "wheat" from the "chaff", if one were to use a Biblical analogy.
Still, in very many cases, you don't even NEED some sort of disaster, plague or pox upon mankind to "cull the herd".
All you really need is something called OPPORTUNITY.
We are creatures of habit for the most part...we do a lot of things every day by "rote"...the way we were brought up or taught.
And that seems to work pretty well for us, even if we're not even aware of it.
Many of us live to help in some fashion...and we don't even know we're doing it.
Sadly, those among us who live in the realm of the "chronic bad choice" are also creatures of "habit", even if it entails being habitually stoned, drunk or predatory in nature.
Yes, this part of humanity is ALSO a TWO-WAY street.
THOSE people live to help as well...help themselves to anything of YOURS, be it property, money, or even your life itself.
That is something you must be ready to resist.
If you are ever to be a good steward of the things life provides to you, you must be willing to make sure that it remains under YOUR care.
We do live in a more disposable world than in times past...no getting around that, but that doesn't mean we set about WASTING anything, especially time itself. Time is still the most coveted commodity of humanity. We never seem to have enough of it, do we?
If only we had MORE time...for whatever it is we want to do...to pursue...to read or to watch a movie...raise a child...whatever we feel we HAVE to do.
More time with the family or friends...more time to make more money...it's ALL important to us at some level.
And yet, whenever some crisis hits, we toss all that to the winds and help one another, because THAT is in our nature.
There are people that wind up losing everything every single day on this planet, due to natural causes, fires, floods...you name it.
There are also people that are victims of crime, and lose possessions and even their lives, again, on a daily basis.
And there are those in war who lose lives fighting for something they believe in...daily.
So, is this really the apocalypse as predicted?
These things occur every single day, and have done so since time for mankind began...nothing new about that.
What we need to think about is the analogy to a flock of sheep.
There are the sheep themselves...doing their thing, and then you have the wolves (predators), and finally, we have the sheep dogs (guardians of the flock). Mankind mirrors that "threesome" very well.
What WE need to do is become more like the SHEEPDOGS in the flock, as there will always be more sheep...AND more wolves.
This might seem like idle ramblings, but think about it...
Can you take charge in YOUR life...be the person you were meant to be?
Or are you content to just be another one of "the flock" following whoever is leading the group, to whatever outcome?
We KNOW who those wolves are, and need to be aware whenever they rear their heads.
Can we take a cue from those sheepdogs and be more aware for not only OUR sake, but for others?
I think we can...and I think we must.
The world can end for any one of us (literally) in a heartbeat...or a single breath.
But we should also look to the future, because we're going to spend the rest of our lives THERE.
And it should behoove us to make it the best damn future we can.
Is it the end of the world?
Only if we give up, give in, and pull the ground over us.
Most of us are much better than that, and have proven so many times.
And, as is often the case, we weren't even aware of THAT, either.
Just a little something to think about.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

2012-01-09T09:13:00.023-05:00

Monday Musings...
I don't know how YOUR weekend was, but ours down here in the ghettohood was another one of those marvelously typical ones.
That's not to say we had anything REALLY bad go down...just the usual amount of asshattery, numbnuttery, and idiocracy.
Fortunately, none of that hits us all at once.
*** The weekend began harmlessly enough, with Wifey doing what she does best on Fridays...COOK.
That's right friends, yours truly gets a day off from those Gordon Ramsey culinary chores (NOT cussing is always optional).
Now whenever Mrs. Bobby G. cooks, it usually involves some place that has carry out...OR, she'll phone in the order. either way works for me...LOL.
SO, she decides that since we haven't had GYROS in a couple months, she'd swing past the place on S. Anthony Blvd. (across from where the old firehouse used to be) next to the Taco Bell there and snag us two dinners.
Imagine my surprise when she arrived home with McD's under her arm, and a rather forlorn look on her brow.
She told me that King Gyros wasn't there any longer.
I asked her: "What did they put in its place...another CHICKEN or RIB joint?"
She said: "You don't understand...the place is GONE, as in removed from this plane of existence...there is NO building there anymore."
Now, that backed ME up a few paces, as she continued...
"The Taco Bell is gone too...it's like the empty site downtown near Parkview Field...all plowed under".
ALLllllllllrighty, then...seems the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE of Fort Wayne has lost even MORE jobs and businesses...I think we're OVER ONE HUNDRED in the past decade, with little if anything to replace ALL of these MIAs.
So, we chowed down on McD's, which also bothered Wifey, because she ALWAYS gets a PLAIN hamburger...just meat on a bun...simple, huh?
Apparently, the Rhodes scholars they have working at the one nearest US don't KNOW what a "plain" hamburger was, and gave her a "hamburger" the way they prep it for the standard menu...pickle, mustard, onions and ketchup...to THEM, that IS plain (dumbasses).
Believe it or not, a PLAIN hamburger is a "special order"...a NAKED chunk of beef patty on a bun is "complex", as opposed to the standard fare.
Go figure.
Yes, cooking CAN be laced with problems...whether it's in YOUR kitchen, or trying to get the most easy order on the planet from a fast food joint.
Almost reminded me of Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces w/ that chicken salad sandwich...lol.
Dinner was served...and that was only the beginning...
Saturday presented the usual morons speeding through the area (what? no police around to catch them?), folks parking against the flow of traffic, and of course, boomcars.
*** What happened around 0140 hrs the following morning was the "fun part".
I was nodding in the middle of some show (actually fell asleep with the TV on), and was startled by THREE (count 'em 3) GUNSHOTS, and they were pretty damn close by.
I immediately got up, pistol in hand, and began a quiet assessment of the neighborhood by looking carefully out our windows (the lights were already all off). I saw no one outside, nor was there any cars passing by, but those shots sounded like they came from the next corner up (about a hundred or so feet away). I even went out to the garage and checked it out for bullet holes. Could not see any evident of damage (thank God).
I came in and fired up the scanner to hear if anyone called a signal 113 (shots fired) into dispatch, and to perform an impromtu experiemnt..
After a HALF HOUR, NOT ONE damn call went out, and my little "experiment" seemed to go AS thought.
That's just A-F$CKING-MAZING!
You're probably wondering WHY *I* didn't call it in...well, that's my experiment...a societal exercise in DESENSITIZATION.
And everyone in my area PASSED (with flying colors).
They are (all, pretty much) TRULY desensitized, which speaks volumes to the state of affairs in certain communities not only in Fort Wayne, but those all across this nation.
I also noticed that NOT ONE DAMN POLICE CAR was in the area to HEAR the shots, otherwise, I'd see a cruiser roll through, right?
Now, to me, it's simple "math" :
NO citizen concern, + NO patrolling police = PROBLEMS! (out the ass).
I'll tell you, a sociology or psychology major could have a FIELD DAY down here with research for a paper on aberrant behavior and so-called cultural "norms".
But, I digress, being a bit sleep-deprived as all normal folks tend to be down here most of the time.
*** There is always something going on, rest assured of that much.
Like THIS tidbit from the news:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120109/LOCAL07/301099958
Yes, aside from all the other police activity, there is a stabbing.
The radio had officers wondering if the victim ran into a house nearby, then ran back outside where he fell.
There are no suspects yet, but given the number of "domestics" we have around here, it would not surprise me if there is a relationship that has not been forthcoming. People tend to not be as COOPERATIVE with law-enforcement down here,...UNTIL it affects THEM directly... THEN, they piss and moan AT the police for not doing ENOUGH.
(hell I can do that myself, especially after those gunshots with no intervention by the FWPD, unless I would have called it the hell in!)
Again, my "experiment" bears out some interesting facts.
And sometimes, you have to be objective about such things, and if that means you refrain from notifying police (so someone ELSE can "have a turn"), then so be it. You just don't make a habit of it...for (your) safety's sake.
But know that THIS incident with the shots fired WILL NOT be marked down on the "attaboy" list in MY tally book.
Consider it more of an "oh, sh*t" moment (for the FWPD).
The command staff REALLY needs to pay ATTENTION down here.
*** Next up, a Saturday morning visit from those wonderful Jehovah''s Witnesses.
(at least THEY weren't shooting off guns indiscriminately).
Got to jaw-jack with them on the front step for a spell...nice mixed race couple, really beautiful NORMAL people (well, as normal as JWs can be...lol)
I'm not into the whole JW gig, but I AM into the CHRISTIAN realm...been so for a long while.
Anywho, I got my free copies of AWAKE and THE WATCHTOWER for the year...lol.
Hey, I have to give these kids CREDIT for venturing into a "lion's den" down here in the ghettohood.
THAT type of commitment and dedication isn't for everyone when it comes to preaching the Word, especially with ALL the "heathens" around us.
(calling the locals that is actually doing a disservice to EVERY heathen, everywhere...these creatures are WORSE)
*** All of our decorations are now put away for about 340 days, when we dig them BACK OUT and put them all up again.
You know, when you mention it THAT way, it does bring the holidays a bit CLOSER...LOL!
The house is back to being "everyday" once again, and I kinda miss it all (not putting it up or taking it down though...THAT I can wait for)
The people across the street put their tree out right AFTER Christmas, and the high winds blew it onto OUR property (where I went out, picked it up and hoofed it back OVER onto THEIR property...where' it's been sitting ever since...lazy-asses)
Guess there's no Hispanic phrase for "take your damn tree to a recycle area or cut it up for proper disposal, you ESL (English as a SECOND language) dropout!"
Don'cha just LOVE "diversity" as it's defined THESE days?
Diversity means there are more ways to practice STUPIDITY and APATHY than you can shake your 40 oz or burrito at, right?
And to think that all of US are paying for such niceties in our neighborhoods...man, I love progress like THIS!
(not)
*** Lastly today, some members of our very own black community held a candlelight service yesterday for those victims of shootings.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120109/LOCAL07/301099980
Now, while I APPLAUD such a noble gesture, I do so with a few caveats.
Some of the victims of shootings (just last year) were those who CHOSE to get involved with the "wrong people", so let's make that fact abundantly clear from the get-go. And as we all know, BAD choices often lead to BAD outcomes.
This service was sponsored by the Brady Campaign to prevent Gun Violence (naturally).
(surprised Helmke wasn't there, that fop)
What is to be readily noticed is that NONE of the so-called Black Community LEADERS were there..!?!
The only "name" there was the head of the local NAACP (one Paulette Nellems).
"We just ask the community to stop the violence", she said.
All well and good, but you cannot solve ANY problem without addressing the CAUSES of those problems.
Nothing said about the BLACK community (which is the basis for a LARGE MAJORITY of the shootings in this city). White shooting are a lot less prevalent (the Lima Rd homicide/suicide late last year being one of those anomalies). Hispanic shootings are on the rise (as is the population itself), and it won't be long before even the Burmese figure out how to illegally get firearms (they like bladed weapons for the time being).
Hell, we already have BOSNIANS in gangs (goon squad) in the city, and it would not be wrong to suspect that close to TWENTY (known) gangs are "represented" JUST in Fort Wayne. Over FORTY gangs have members in the state of Indiana, and that covers ALL races.
What we need to take from this candlelight service, is that the LAW-ABIDING public can often be an ally as well as law-enforcement.
And a greater PRESENCE BY LAW-ENFORCEMENT at ALL hours in certain areas is to be pursued if ANY change is to be enacted for the better.
But most of all, it takes those WITHIN a specific "community" to belabor THEIR point of stopping ANY type of violence to THEIR LEADERS.
They need to get in THEIR face, and stand on THEIR neck, and hold THEM ALL responsible for the inaction that has led to so many lives being snuffed the hell out.
And if that means a change in BEHAVIOR...become a BETTER person than you were the previous day...not louder...not ignorant...not arrogant...BETTER, then by God, stop TALKING about it, and get to work DOING it!
Start claiming personal responsibility, instead of "passing the buck", because that hasn't been working all too well in those communities (or anywhere else).
Then, you won't be needing to hold vigils, or candlelight services, but rather hold ceremonies to acknowledge those OUTSTANDING people in the community...ones that we can ALL be proud to live among.
Have yourselves a great week.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

2012-01-06T07:38:00.010-05:00

Friday Follies...
Here we are - the FIRST Friday of the new year, and we haven't had ANY more homicides (yet).
But, we've plenty of year left, as well of plenty of criminals with the intent, so don't count them out.
*** First up, today is EPIPHANY (6 Jan), and that means that all our Christmas decorations can OFFICIALLY come down (in our house).
It's just something that my late Mom used to ascribe to...don't ask me why.
Mom wasn't even Catholic...she was (like I am) a "shouting" Methodist.
Traditionally, this Christian festival commemorates the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi.
It also is the day immediately following those other "Twelve" days of Christmas (which ends on the 5th).
But hey, you don't need me bending your ear on this...so, here's the WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(holiday)
So, I get to UNdecorate the house, and I'm probably not the only one that gets a bit "down" while putting it all away for the next 340 or so days.
At least I won't be leaving outdoor lights up until late Spring (or later)...like many often do. And that is just SO damn tacky.
The tree comes down tomorrow (sigh).
Still, like they say...as one door closes, another one opens...right?
*** Next on the agenda, hundreds turn out to say goodbye to Aliahna Lemmon.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120106/LOCAL07/301069970
Now, if this tugs at your heart strings a wee bit...GOOD...it's supposed to.
I will never live long enough to figure out WHY young lives are snuffed out LONG before their time, while others continue.
If I were to venture a guess, it would be so that those of us that DO continue on will not forget those lives, and be bold enough to stand up for such young lives, allowing them the opportunity to enjoy a life where they can grow into adulthood and prosper, and not have to endure such evils so early in those lives. Maybe that's asking too much, or being too idealistic, but hell, we've got to start somewhere and be the voice of our future in their stead.
Personally,. I don't believe that IS asking too much...of any of us.
*** Next up, a nice LONG sentence for a murdering thug.
Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120106/LOCAL03/301069966
Roderick Vandrell Lewis won't be practicing his particular brand of "getting to know people" for quite some time.
With his VERY checkered background with drugs, gangs (Gangster Disciples), and crime, you have to remember that he is still a "GOOD BOY".
Sorry, but a good boy is one that keeps his damn nose clean...or a dog that fetches when you toss a ball.
This piece of human waste isn't fit to breathe the same air as the rest of us.
But he DOES have the balls to say to the families who lost teenagers at HIS hands that he's a "good person".
Yeah, right...and everyone WAS really born yesterday, too.
Lewis says he is a changed man because of religion.
Well, I got a feeling he's gonna be shouting the Creator's name should he ever drop the soap in the prison shower.
The house that Lewis shot the two teenagers at was a PARTY HOUSE for youth and drugs.
Gee, don't we have a few MORE of them down here in the crotch of Fort Wayne?
I know there are several that get higher than usual "traffic" both by vehicle and on foot.
The families of the slain teens took exception with the media for portraying their sons as gang members (well, if you HANG with gang members, some of THAT crap's bound to rub off...don'cha think?). Isn't it the whole "lying down with pigs" thing?
Some people MUST like the SMELL.
*** A followup on homicide #2 for this year.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120106/LOCAL07/301069914/1002/LOCAL
I find it ODD that the FWPD will not disclose the LOCATION where they found that 2005 blue Impala (which belonged to the shooting victim).
Maybe they found it DOWN HERE (like I said was a distinct possibility)?
The car was unoccupied at the time police found it, and believe it might yield clues in the ongoing investigation.
I'll try and stay on top of this one, should more information become available.
*** Lastly today, is anyone just a wee bit confused as to WHO the GOP candidate will be (who will or can) defeat Obama?
I know I sure as hell am.
I already mentioned to several other bloggers (and Wifey) that NONE of them have the "complete package", because each of them is deficient in some area somewhere.
Now maybe, I'm looking too hard for the PERFECT candidate...so what's wrong with that, other than the fact that they probably don't exist?
Doesn't hurt to set HIGH standards when it comes to the highest office in our own government, right?
I mean, I want the BEST-QUALIFIED person for the job...period!
(and not an empty suit that practices Chicago politics with ties to Kenya and wants to turn the USA into some socialistic adjunct of China...or worse...sound familiar?)
Whenever I deal with someone on a professional level, I would hope that they KNOW what they're doing...that's why I choose to deal with them.
Could be a mechanic, a home repair specialist, a TV repairman, plumber...doesn't matter WHO it is...as long as they exude confidence in their job, because they KNOW their craft (and they better know it BETTER than I do, because I'm paying them to do something I can't...lol)
Isn't that the way it SHOULD work?
Now while I freely admit that there are some doctors who play a mean game of golf, I wouldn't exactly want a golfer to be performing whatever critical SURGERY that's required on me or a loved one...
Should be the SAME way in politics.
Yet, I don't want a staunch "politician"...I want someone who has worked their way UP, has experience dealing with as many problems as possible, and being able to think accordingly (and creatively) to SOLVE those problems.
I want someone looking out for THIS country, and NOT every other country.
I want someone who won't be apologizing FOR this nation.
And I want someone who knows WHAT our Constitution is all about and chooses to stand BY IT...no matter what.
I know, I'm asking a helluva lot, right?
Each of the GOP candidates has one thing going for them, but I'm not willing to toss them all into a blender, and then pour out the contents of that "perfect" candidate. I would hope that they are all LEARNING from one another, and that they DO have the best interest of the people of this nation, as well as the nation ITSELF in mind.
Gonna be an interesting election year...that's for sure.

In the meantime...
Have yourselves a nice, politics-free weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay safe out there, America.

2012-01-05T06:43:00.007-05:00

If It's Not One Damn Thing....
It's usually another, right?
At least that's the way the saying goes, hmm?
And so it is with humanity...one damn thing after another.
we'll get back to that farther along, but first...more of the "good stuff".
(and yes, I'm being a bit facetious here)
It's time again to dig deep into the recently DE-classified files that I've been keeping in my basement (next to all those Batman comics), and check with our various departmental sources.
*** From the "There's NO fuel like an OLD fuel" department:
With Iran flexing it's muscle in the Middle East, threatening to close the strait of Hormuz, is it any wonder?
Here's just one link from New England:
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/providence/gas-prices-rise-to-start-2012
In the Midwest, prices are expected to be higher still.
In 2011, on average, the price of a gallon of gas was HIGHER than any other year (thanks, Obama).
And, as I mentioned in the FIRST post of this year, America's NUMBER ONE EXPORT is...FUEL!
And THAT is a LEADING cause of OUR higher gas prices at the damn pumps.
I say we start KEEPING all this sh*t, and see how the REST of the world fares WITHOUT OUR FUEL.
OUR fuel should be going into OUR vehicles...seems easy enough to skull the hell out, doesn't it?
*** From the "Once an idiot, always an idiot" Department:
A local DJ was busted (again) for DWI and possession.
Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120105/LOCAL/301059962/1002/LOCAL
Now, anyone should KNOW by now that if you really WANT to smoke pot, drink AND drive your Cadillac, the BEST place to do it is in the damn ghettohood, because I see people doing it all the time, and THEY (seemingly) NEVER get stopped (even when I mention such things to the FWPD command staff).
The LAST place you should do such things is up on COLISEUM BLVD...because you've got more FWPD officers just looking for those easy tickets, especially during the holiday season.
You want citations, THAT is THE place to go. PLENTY of traffic to choose from.
Then again, the officers in THAT quadrant don't have the amount of (per capita) illegal activity we have down here on the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE of Fort Wayne. And they don't have liberal ethnics trying to sue the FWPD at the drop of a hat every damn day for stupid crap, either.
Guess Billy Elvis might want to think on those things...in the future, because his DJ days at 92.3 (The Fort) might be numbered.
And next time, "Billy", don't try and toss your "celebrity status" at an arresting officer...that BS doesn't cut it.
*** From the "What GOES around, COMES (back) around" file...
This story is a bit amusing, and after you read it, you'll know why:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120105/LOCAL07/301059967/1002/LOCAL
The lesson to be learned here...never mess with fleet-footed employees who know the layout of the place they work at better than YOU do whenever you attempt to ROB the joint.
Or else, you might find yourself on the OUTSIDE...looking IN.
(white trash moron)
*** From the "Some people should NEVER procreate" FIles:
This is a sad story, but at least it looks to have a happier ending for a 3-year old:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120105/LOCAL07/301059965/1002/LOCAL
Typical behavior from someone who should have NEVER had a child (to pad her welfare) to begin with.
Ms Davis should have never been driving either, because she had been suspended, but that didn't stop HER.
She drove around with NO insurance, her headlights off, and was pulled over for SPEEDING (wish that officer patrolled MY street).
All this while her son (with special physical needs like a feeding tube) could only stay alone in her house and cry.
Nice...a TRUE example of how NOT to be a parent OR a responsible human being.
(aboriginal dumbass)
*** From the "We're off to a FINE start this year" Files:
We're barely FIVE days into the new year, and we've already had TWO (count 'em...2) HOMICIDES in Allen Country (1 in Ft. Wayne).
That seems to be on track with MY prediction. (so far...and then some)
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120105/LOCAL07/301059928
Now, Mr. Jones is no stranger to being a victim, as he was shot back on 2 December (hand wound), and was uncooperative with officers about he came to be wounded. He lived on Anderson Ave, up north, so at least this death didn't occur down on the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE.
This time, someone made SURE he was shot, because there seems to be no evidence of suicide.
And his car is missing.
It's a 2005 blue Impala with (too) dark-tinted windows and has the tag MIKE74 (which has probably been changed if the perp was smart), and if any car thief was worth his weight in car parts, he probably found some place to get the vehicle repainted.
Lord KNOWS there are TOO many Impalas down there in the ghettohood, and very easy to go undetected in that manner.
Radio chatter last night mentioned that both the sister and another man were forthcoming with information. Whether or not it's USEFUL, or just a diversion remains to be seen (and heard).
Oh, and I'm SURE he was just a "good boy"...never did anyone any harm, was fun to be with...yada, yada, yada...
They ALL are...what the hell are WE doing thinking otherwise.
There's not a GUILTY one in the whole damn tribe, is there?
They're ALL innocent and pure as the driven snow....aaaannnnd I have a bridge for sale in NYC if anyone's interested.
Looks like betting on at least 25 homicides (here) might be worth the gamble.
*** Lastly today...lots of really weird crap going down, and that's why it seems more like a continuation of LAST year, rather than a NEW year.
I would think a new year denotes SOME change, and hopefully for the BETTER....just not seeing it all that much so far.
Hell, you really WANT to be optimistic, but you keep seeing examples of why NOT being that way makes a lot more sense.
I prefer to practice a CAUTIOUS type of optimism...
Like walking through a minefield...being very careful in where you step, looking for those tell-tale signs of a booby trap, like trip wires, freshly moved dirt...well, you get the idea.
Would that we all have that starry-eyed type of optimism that NEVER shakes our resolve.
But we live in the REAL world...and we deal in TRUTH.
Fact is, many of us know the score, know the players, and (usually) know the outcomes.
Still, that should never totally dissuade us from our pursuit of the belief that things can get better...because they eventually will, some faster than others. We just have to stay the course...and know it will.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

2012-01-04T07:23:00.007-05:00

Humpday Happenings...
I've got this world wildlife calendar staring at me from the wall, and it's got a picture of a mama polar bear and her cub on some frozen tundra-like landscape...not doing all that much to make me feel "warm and fuzzy" during winter...so that's why the coffee is within a hand-grab.
I knew I should have put the sleeping kitten calendar up on that wall...but that would have made me drowsy...
And the Chinese calendar from a local eatery would have made me hungry...can't seem to win here.
To think I COULD have had a Three Stooges calendar...at HALF PRICE, and yet neglected to purchase it.
Next year, maybe?
I could always save that polar bear picture for JULY...when I really NEED it...LOL.
Anyway, let's see what "WHO SAID IT?" quote we have in store today.
*** This quote is really attributable to no one in particular, but is considered one of those "sayings":
"Climate is what you expect, and weather is what you get."
If I were to venture a guess as to who MIGHT have said this, I'd figure some grunt in some god-forsaken foxhole fighting to keep all the parts of him that he entered battle with where the Creator intended them to remain while ALSO battling the elements.
Lord knows there's nothing worse than trying to combat TWO "enemies" at the same time...in the same place.
*** Next up, what ABOUT that New Year's Resolution, anyway?
Do you take the time to make one up, and if so, do you really KEEP it?
A RESOLUTION is defined thus:
1. a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group. Compare concurrent resolution, joint resolution.
2. a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.
3. the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
4. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.
5. the act or process of resolving or separating into constituent or elementary parts.
I don't know about YOU, but #4 kinda intrigues me...that whole "firmness of purpose" thing.
As to actually MAKING one...can't pigeonhole myself in such a manner.
My ONLY resolution is really NOT to make a resolution...that way I can never really be disappointed or otherwise let down.
Life often has it's times when we NEED to be resolve in some manner.
Perhaps it's a situation we need to attend to immediately, or maybe it's something that deserves our attention at that time.
If I were to make a REAL resolution, I would be sure that it would have a modicum of SUCCESS involved.
I mean, what point is there to making a resolution, if you have little or no intention of seeing it through?
If the odds stack against your succeeding at it, wouldn't it be more prudent to rethink the whole plan and come at it from a different direction, in order to ensure SOME level of success or accomplishment?
Yeah, that DOES make a lot more sense, doesn't it?
So, if you DO make a resolution for the new year, I'd say take some time and think it out...plan for those things that could deter you from the reason you made it in the first place, and do what you need to do in order to make your resolution a victory, rather than a defeat.
*** And speaking of "rethinking things"...this story caught my eye this morning...
It's about how Fort Wayne is trying to assist developers with URBAN HOUSING.
(here we go again...I thought this merry-go-round finally STOPPED)
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120104/LOCAL/301049981
The Housing and Neighborhood Development Board (who the hell are these mooks?) are investigating ways to create a "loan fund" to help developers build in the city's urban core, which to me sounds like the...(...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST side of town.
Unless, they're REALLY talking about the area immediately SURROUNDING the (always in development) DOWNTOWN area.
I don't see any specific area boundaries inclusive to the article, so I'm guessing here, but most of my guesses are usually better than most city FACTS, anyway.
To quote the story:
(( The problem locally is that several developers are looking to build urban housing projects, such as condominiums, but Fort Wayne lacks comparable existing units. )) Now, ain't that just too damn bad.
Whenever I hear the words HOUSING PROJECT, I am always reminded of the "facilities" that went up in parts of Philly, initially used to house the low-income of the crowd, mainly ethnic in nature.
And while this is a noble undertaking, the fact of the matter is that ANY of these areas soon become havens for all sorts of illegal activities.
They put up a bunch of high-rises in south Philly to house those displaced by I-95 when it was built, and most of THOSE people were older white folks who lived in houses one could consider historical in nature (one of the oldest sections of the city).
Well, it didn't take long for the wrong folks to begin moving into those high-rises, bringing their "baggage" with them, and soon, it became a place even the police din;t want to visit. Thankfully, they were torn down (in less than 30 years!), distributing the indigent and moronic all over the city (most all the whites have vacated long before that).
And it's screwed up a LOT more neighborhoods as a result of such "noble" experiments.
So, you can see I've got an understanding of what CAN happen with such ventures.
Now, here in Fort Wayne, we also have OVER 400 VACANT houses...waiting to be refurbished and moved into, so WHY would we even bother to bring in developers that want to build completely NEW housing units?
And the current reason we're given that new housing PROJECTS haven't built HERE, is that we presently DO NOT meet the criteria for (enough) AVAILABLE units? We need MORE PROJECTS in order to get even MORE?
(Bob, we need a bigger ghetto to make this wasted money of our future seem worthwhile)
I say IF a developer has the "stones" to build in an area they KNOW will be PROFITABLE, you won't need to dangle some damn (government-sponsored) carrot in front of him to do so.
Developers should be there to ASSIST THE CITY (they build in), and NOT the other way around.
Fort Wayne already does (imho) TOO damn much to "assist" those that shouldn't BE assisted in the first place.
That's why MY neighborhood has devolved over the last 10-15 years...all that "assistance" to the wrong people...and for the wrong reasons.
Don't anybody even TRY to think this thing through...just perform more of your "business-as-usual", and then wind up annexing even MORE surrounding areas when this goes down the tubes...sure, that's the "good old boy" way.
Wonder how often such assisting was performed in such cities like...Detroit...or Chicago...or Atlanta, Cincy, Cleveland, Philly...well, that list just keeps getting LONGER, doesn't it?
This doesn't "solve" ANY problem...it SPREADS it the hell out, and that only increases the likelihood of trashing more nice areas of those cities once it starts all over again. And this is called PROGRESS?
(not hardly)
Stop working on the HOUSING and start working on the POPULATION instead. Get THEIR heads out their asses, and their hands out of the taxpayers' pockets and get THEM accountable and responsible enough to know what it means to be a RESPECTABLE HOMEOWNER...period.
THEN (and only then) will you see blighted areas come back to life...and actually THRIVE.
The rest (businesses and the like) will take of itself.
*** Lastly today, I'm a worrier...there I said it.
It's not that I LIKE to worry...I just do, because a certain level of worry denotes a certain level of CONCERN.
And I am a CONCERNED individual.
I'm concerned about the state of my neighborhood, this city, the state I reside in, and especially this nation.
And concerned people tend to be more GOAL-oriented, than TASK-oriented.
Granted, you have to perform certain tasks in order to achieve a GOAL.
But the whole issue is KNOWING you HAVE to perform whatever task is required, if you are ever to MAKE the goal you have set for yourself.
And the driving force behind that is MOTIVATION...plain and simple.
When people are not motivated to do something...anything...the whole plan unravels like a cheap-ass sweater.
THAT is what is ailing America these days...not enough people motivated into action.
It doesn't take THAT much to get the ball rolling...it just take the WILL to say you can...and then stick to it and see it through.
In the end, it takes INDIVIDUAL commitment, and with ENOUGH individuals pulling together, things WILL get done.
Now, I don't know what lights the fire under your ass...you have to find that out for yourselves.
Whatever motivates you into action is the key.
And history has proven that motivated people can do damn near anything.
Let THAT be your guide today, and for every day to come.
YOU have it in you to make things happen...however small of insignificant it might seem to others.
THAT is what makes this nation the greatest in the world.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-03T07:22:00.019-05:00

A Taste of Winter Weather...
Yes, friends, you can tell that winter IS in the air...and that global warming has taken a holiday (probably to the Caribbean, or perhaps even Australia), as we here in Fort Wayne received our first significant snowfall of this year (the one late last year was just a "trial run").
Although we only got a dusting down here at the "Fortress of Reason" (nestled in the crotch of the Ghettoland Abusement Park and Discount House of Pharmaceuticals), points north and west of the city received up to SIX (count 'em...6) inches of the flaky white stuff.
And naturally, drivers thought it still OK to drive like it was a normal day...and quickly found out how WRONG they were.
Slide-offs, spin outs, and fender benders along roads and highways farther north kept traffic moving at a more "respectable" pace, and officers were kept busy.
With road traffic at the usual volume, it's unlikely we'll see any plowing, but I would wager that salt crews might have rolled to cover the overpasses north and west...just as a precaution (I know I would do that).
We DO have this "gypsy" plow that comes over OUR alley, damn near waking the dead around 0630. Don't know where he lives at, but I have a good idea. This guy plows whatever snow across the street onto the entrance of the NEXT block's alley....how STUPID is that?
Love to see the police nail this guy for something (like maybe tearing up the gravel in OUR alley, which it sounds like he's doing).
There was barely ONE STINKING INCH OF SNOW, and this jerk is PLOWING???
It's getting so we can almost find at least ONE "WTF???" moment per day around here...and I'm not EVEN trying hard...LOL!
Anyway, with THAT (hopefully) behind us, let's see what ELSE in happening out and about, hmm?
*** Well, THAT didn't take long to happen, did it?
The FIRST homicide of the new year has occurred in Allen County (Huntertown to be exact)...it's "official", now.
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120103/LOCAL07/301039940
Let me ask this: Is ANY argument worth the type of escalation that results in gunplay...on New Year's Day?
The end was a homicide and suicide.
Now, I'll be the first to tell you that around my ghettohood, there are a LOT of people that DESERVE to be shot (at least once, especially the LOUDASSES), because of the arrogance and disrespect they employ on a daily basis...
This situation in Huntertown seems like another "domestic", and those can get real serious real fast...emotions run high.
I know I never cease to be amazed at people that feel the "need" to wail the snot out of one another on a regular basis, at any time of day.
But my folks had a simple remedy for that:
They never went to bed angry at one another...and THAT worked!
*** The memorial service for Aliahna Lemmon...
Here's the *4-1-1* on this continuing story:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/memorial-service-set-for-aliahna
And here's her obit:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fortwayne/obituary.aspx?n=aliahna-marie-maroney-lemmon&pid=155311552&fhid=6185
As hard as it is to see an older (and loved) person pass, it's even MORE so with a child.
If you have ever seen the Lord Of the Rings trilogy, there is a quote that comes to mind:
"No parent should have to bury their child" - (Theoden, King of Rohan to Gandalf on the passing of his son, Theodred)
Art does imitate life, even in times such as these.
And so, we but turn another page...
*** More of a "Nanny State"?
Hopefully THIS will not be coming HERE anytime soon...or maybe it will....
This story has to do with EATING WHILE DRIVING.
Here's the link (with video):
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/CHP-to-Crack-Down-on-Distracted-Drivers-136407568.html
I find this both hilarious AND disturbing at the same time.
Now, I admit to eating behind the wheel...just never in MY car or the Wifeymobile WHILE EITHER IS IN MOTION.
Face it, you've got plenty of distractions as it is, and like Dad ALWAYS said:
"You should treat driving as your SECOND job, son."
And by God, he was right (as usual...now I know where I get that from...lol)
Multi-tasking might be find and dandy for AT HOME...in front of your 'puter..but NOT when you're behind the wheel of a ton and a half (or more) of rolling metal, rubber, plastic and other assorted parts.
Besides, ever drop a glob of Arby sauce (or worse yet...HOT COFFEE) in your LAP while motoring?
NOT the best way to keep your focus ON THE DAMN ROAD...is it?
I know I dropped a lit cigar between my legs ONCE...and ONLY once.
Ever try to drive a car while attempting to STAND UP...in a HARDTOP (while removing the offensive and rather HOT cigar from the seat)?
Tell 'ya right now...it AIN'T EASY, folks!
Luckily I was in a parking lot, and far enough from the stores to NOT hit anyone or anything.
Lesson learned THERE.
Think about it...if this were a few thousand years ago, what self-respecting charioteer would be munching on some grapes while driving said chariot along the Appian Way, hmm?
Or what helmsman on a trade caravel would be gnawing on some salt pork while navigating the Cape of Good Hope (which was one of the most treacherous passages in those days)?
You're not just a DRIVER of your vehicle...you're the "Master and Commander" of it, as it were (even if you don't look or dress like Russell Crowe).
You are the CAPTAIN of that vehicle, and as such, are RESPONSIBLE for it's movement along whatever street, road or highway you have chosen.
Thing is, too many folks treat it all way too lightly, as they do a LOT of life.
And that can cause problems...for themselves and to others.
If you really NEED to eat and drive, pull the hell OVER...ditto for phones, makeup, shavers, reading the newspapers...whatever.
Cripes, we have enough issues with DRUNK (or otherwise impaired) drivers, don't we?
Do we honestly need to ADD to that problem?
I would hope not.
So, an ounce of prevention WILL be worth a pound of cure here...trust me.
*** Lastly today, I watched a portion of the first City Council meeting last evening, and I was impressed by near everyone now on council, as far as their goals go. Naturally, Glynn Hines (our councilperson in the 6th district aka the ghettohood) is an empty suit in my eyes.
Sure, he wants to see the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE of Fort Wayne prosper.
Hell, I want to see it prosper, but not in the way it's been pursued since he took over...hasn't gotten one bit better since 1999.
It's gotten WORSE, and rarely any outcry as to HOW it got this way and how to fix it.
What HAS really changed since...say, 1999 down here anyway?
Well, for one thing, LOTS of white homeowners have "shipped out"...plain and simple.
I know that ALL but two of our formers neighbors just moved away, because they couldn't take it any longer - the way this neighborhood was turning into a ghettohood.
And I can appreciate their views...trying to KEEP a neighborhood from slipping into the ten levels of hell takes someone not willing to take any crap from the transient refuse that will soon be moving into the area.
You don't "give up" simply because someone else WANTS you to (and wants your property to add to the slumdom of the area).
The other two neighbors passed away, turning the houses either vacant or available for "rent", and we all know what THAT means these days.
But that's a small part of the REAL problem.
When human refuse moves into one house...just ONE, it can affect an ENTIRE BLOCK...(and usually does).
I've seen it firsthand.
And such people bring all their "baggage" with them...typically criminal in nature.
It's not long before local businesses are targeted, robbed, and eventually LEAVE the area.
Now, we've not only got bad people in once nice houses, we've got retail gaps out the ass...nowhere to shop (and plenty of that).
The police begin to turn MORE resources into the area to stem the rising tide of crime...
But, racial allegations soon are levelled at the department, along with frivolous lawsuits for profiling and the like, and that can cause them to back off.
Patrols become fewer, and only for immediate responses for emergencies.
Crime become unpreventable, and the police become relegated to investigatory matters.
None of the houses in the area are "owned" by any sort of REALTOR, but by private persons (slumlords), and no one moving into these rapidly-dilapidated hovels is vetted to ANY extent, so the criminal element grows exponentially.
NOW...you've got a full-blown GHETTO on your hands, and woe to those few "holdouts" that still live among the human excrement that prowls the streets to all hours, looking to serve themselves and find ways to pay for their drug habits.
They can't find too many regular people to commit crime against, so they begin preying on ONE ANOTHER.
And that actually makes the city breathe a sigh of relief...let them kill ONE ANOTHER.
Thing is, the city has LOST all that tax revenue by allowing such things to happen, so they ANNEX surrounding areas, in the hope of shoring UP that tax base. And that ghetto keeps on GROWING...taking MORE tax money from the city coffers (because none of the "new" residents don't do a damn thing productive like WORK...or pay taxes...they live off of YOU instead...and the city.)
And that is how you ruin a part of a city...all it takes is COMMITMENT...and about a dozen or so years.
Nice, huh?
The COSTS to Fort Wayne are becoming immeasurable, and perhaps some day, someone behind some big-ass desk downtown will figure this out, and do something to change it..
And all THAT would take...is the SAME level of commitment, wouldn't it?
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2012-01-02T07:03:00.012-05:00

Monday Musings...
Welcome to 2012...which is many respects kinda seems just like a continuation of 2011...weird how that works, isn't it?
With that said, let's see what we might have missed last year, and in the process, become better acquainted with what we might well expect THIS year, fair enough?
*** New Year's Eve around my part of the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST side of Fort Wayne aka the ghettohood was typical of past years.
Lots of illegal "celebratory gunfire", I believe is the term that's usually coined when explaining the asshattery that imbues much of what this part of town has become when lazy-ass folks are given free stuff on YOUR dime.
In some ways, I would really not want to have any veteran that is prone to "flashbacks" around when these idiots start their gun-related monkeyshines.
It always sounds like a busy night in Kandahar...or Baghdad...or the Tet offensive of '68...or pick whatever battle that contained lots of small arms fire...and well, you get the idea.
I DID hear a few FWPD calls for gunshots (signal 113), but as is always the case, I never saw ONE cruiser roll over the two streets that intersect our property.
The gunfire began around 2000 hrs (yeah, THAT early), and went on until AFTER 0130 hrs the following morning (Sunday), but it was just the testosterone-challenged minions of mayhem that were practicing the "I wanna shoot my gun off FIRST or LAST" syndrome. Like the kid that ALWAYS had to have the LAST CLAP in school...(and we're not talking STDs here, but applause...LOL).
Anyone recall the days when POTS, PANS, and CLACKERS (noisemakers) worked well enough to usher in the New Year?
(I sure as hell do...)
Mrs. Bobby G. and I supped on a nice cheese and beef stick platter, with some cocktail shrimp as "chasers"...the standard fare for us.
And we washed it down AT MIDNIGHT with some Andre cold duck...(haven't had that in a LONG time...it tastes better than I remember).
Sunday was something of a more traditional meal (for me, anyway)...corned beef brisket with potatoes and sauerkraut - you have to add some peas into the 'kraut...it's a Pennsylvania Dutch "good-luck" thing that Mom always did. And it was good, rest assured of that.
Besides, around HERE, the more luck you can scarf up,...the BETTER (it helps with the experience and guile...LOL).
So, that's pretty much OUR festivities concerning the advent of the New Year...except for ONE, small thing...like having to REPAIR a section of our (SOON to be replaced and made MUCH STURDIER) privacy fence...as the sun was setting, thanks to some marvelous WIND that blew our way Sunday afternoon and evening, placing that section on our backyard lawn ...(oh, joy...).
That was fun (Wifey helped and "she done good" ), and goes to show that this year will (again) be nothing if not "interesting"...
Still, none of that prevented me from coming across some noteworthy items during the transition from 2011 to 2012, and I think you'll be glad I mentioned them (if you didn't already read them and get PO'ed all by yourself...lol)
*** America IS the land of plenty..no denying that.
We've got PUH-LENTY of damn near everything...such as:
-Crime
-Drugs
-Illegal Aliens
-Stupid People
(that DOES include those either walking, biking, or driving)
-Welfare Leeches
BUT...there is also the "up" side...
We have plenty of:
-Natural Resources
-Food
-Water
-Housing
-Transportation
-Stuff to buy
And about a bazillion other things, but let's focus on resources...for a minute or two.
America loves to GIVE stuff to others...as well as SELL stuff to others...doesn't matter WHERE in the world it is.
Hell, we sold ARMS to IRAQ to fight IRAN...then we slid into bed with IRAN to beat IRAQ, and now we're back on the side of IRAQ against IRAN.
We sell MILLIONS of bushels of CORN overseas, and then ALSO use corn to produce the wonderfully inefficient fuel source known as ETHANOL.
And then we (rightly) bitch a fit when we don't have enough (you guessed it...) CORN to feed our cattle, or to CONSUME ourselves.
But, as much CORN as we sell overseas, that was NOT the LARGEST EXPORT from America in 2011.
Wanna know what it WAS?
(you might not like it...I'm just warning you)
It was...(drum roll, please...)...
FUEL!!!!
Okay, this is officially the FIRST "WTF???" moment of the New Year...
We sent MORE FUEL to other nations than any other item..and I do mean ANY.
Here's the source article that will either make your eyes bleed OR your head explode (so keep the tissues or duct tape handy):
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111231/BIZ13/312319953
I had to read the damn thing THREE times, and every time I read it, I got a little MORE pissed the hell off...!
(Gee, wonder WHY?)
And OUR gas at the pumps hovers around $3.25 a gallon....for what POSSIBLE reason?
We SEND our fuel overseas, and then IMPORT (foreign) fuel back?
Isn't that just a wee bit f$cked the hell UP?
Amazing that more people aren't bringing this to our attention...like we're NOT supposed to KNOW what these schmucks are doing with OUR fuels.
Do they honestly believe for a moment that ALL of us are THAT damn STUPID to NOT notice this?
Well, that's why I'm here, friends...to LET YOU KNOW...the TRUTH, plain and simple.
If there is a New Year's Resolution in the mix, it would be that I resolve to become MORE AWARE of what the hell is going on around me (in America), and that can never do anyone any harm, you can bank on that.
But wait, there's more...
*** The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette published it's annual "homicide list" (Sunday's paper).
Here's the link to THIS story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120101/LOCAL07/301019896
Now, based on MY "predictions" last year, I said we'd have TWENTY-FIVE homicides (in Allen County, including those in Fort Wayne proper)...we had TWENTY-FOUR (damn close, Bob...or should we call you "Svengali" ?) It's not clairvoyance (think I dated a Clair Voyance in high school)...it's common sense.
I base my estimates on population, trends in specific areas, demographics, past years, and the like.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics states the crime is going DOWN...(yawn)...could have fooled me.
--With deaths of LEOs UP 13%, death (to officers) by gunshots UP 15%, where precisely is the "down" part?
--You reclassify certain crimes to place them in a misdemeanor category, so THOSE crimes appear to go DOWN, but isn't that just an obfuscation of the REAL facts?
--And then there are the UNREPORTED crimes (due to intimidation, fear, etc).
I would maintain that crime is STATIC at best, and in many cases is on the RISE, despite what some people "want" you to believe.
Because if you DO believe what "they" say without question, rather than trust you OWN eyes and ears, you WILL become complacent (and a prime target FOR crime). Maybe that's WHAT they want?
Helluva way to "decrease the surplus population", hmm?
Too much of that kind of "small sh*t" gets under-noticed, or just plain ignored, and although ignorance MIGHT be bliss, it sure as hell ain't helping normal people get on with THEIR lives, is it?
It's not as though small crimes are falling through the cracks...it's more like the cracks have been WIDENED to accommodate them all.
Maybe THIS year could be a time to CLOSE those cracks, toughen the laws (which I might remind you ONLY apply to the LAW-LESS), and hold those accountable that refuse, ignore, or otherwise sidestep either obeying the laws, or enforcing them (and that would include the politicians, and command staff of any law-enforcement department).
MY prediction for THIS year should pretty much be ON PAR with last year (if not increase - we already had our FIRST homicide in Huntertown - gunshot wounds), and I say that due to growing ethnic populations and immigrant cadres within certain parts of the city. I'll stick to around 25 (possibly MORE)
But that's fine, unless you're a young black male (the majority of last year's homicide victims)
Unless there is a SUBSTANTIAL shift in the status quo, especially in MY section of the ghettohood, I see little change.
*** Lastly, you might notice a different "banner" quote at the top, and that as done purposely and with some thought.
I promise that 2012 at the "Erudition", I will continue to bring all this to the forefront...so YOU can know what you need to, in order to be prepared.
If it cheeses some folks off now and then...oh, well...the TRUTH sometimes has that effect.
(it's just the unenlightened people's way of dealing with it...attack the "messenger")
We'll be informed, get PO'ed, become indignant, smile from time to time, and through it all (and then some), we'll remember what this nation STANDS for, and how UNCOMPROMISING we must become in order to KEEP our country from bowing to external or internal forces that would change the face of our nation from what it was intended.
So, here's to 2012...lots of "piss and vinegar" to go around, my friends.
In the meantime:
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.

2012-01-01T07:28:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the New Year...

May this year find you well, in good spirits, and safe in the hollow of God's hand.

2011-12-30T10:21:00.011-05:00

Friday Follies - End of Year Edition...
Well, this is the last "official" post of 2011 (and in some respects, I'm glad to see it go). We had way too much crap that went down this past year to last SEVERAL years (imho).
And that was only in THIS burned-out burg called Fort Wayne.
Next year proves to be even more "interesting", if we are to believe the MAYAN calendar...the whole "end of days" gig.
Guess I won't sweat any LONG-TERM plans I've been formulating...at least until this time NEXT year...lol.
Besides, whenever you DO attempt to plan that far ahead, something ALWAYS comes along to change up those plans.
*** At least the Missus and I managed to get up to Glenbrook Mall yesterday to "embellish" our Christmas gifts...did pretty well, too.
Stopped by the ASIAN STYLES store and got birth year statues, 2 sets of fancy chopsticks (for me), and then got a really cool book at Barnes & Noble that is a pictorial history of firearms (2011 pub date).
Damn book is over 400 pages and ONLY cost $8 bucks. Now THAT was a real bargain.
And I did get my 2012 Garfield calendar...for 1/2 price...gotta love that.
But the weirdest thing occurred...that part that was missing from Wifey's car REAPPEARED...in the damn MAP POUCH on the same door!!!
I was like "WTF???" It wasn't there the other day (checked twice)...I'd swear on my parent's grave. It's hard to miss something that size.
What I think happened was that it temporarily fell through one of those "alternative universe" rifts...the place when your "misplaced" stuff goes for several days and then mysteriously comes BACK in the weirdest place.
But the original part is damaged and doesn't fit as tightly as the replacement, so there you go. We have TWO of them now (the old one will be a backup if we eve need it).
Was the money wasted? Nah...the new part doesn't seem likely to come off, so it's a win-win for me. Money well-spent.
And that was the extent of my wonderful Thursday, that the trashmen did NOT come out to pick up our refuse on...a slip-up on the part of the media to NOTIFY us that trash would in fact, be A DAY LATE (Monday holiday).
Thanks for the "heads-up" on that one , people.
*** So, with this year almost behind us, let's toss out some words and phrases that (to me) seemed to set the pace for what transpired over the last twelve months, fair enough?
Now, let me preface my observations and comments by saying I could not (in good conscience) come up with a "top ten" list of events. To me, there were so many, globally, nationally, and locally to effective pick from...just so you know.
And these are in no particular order, nor reflect either all good or all bad...they just happened.
FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN
SO many people displaced by an earthquake tsunami and nuclear plant disaster, that it boggles the mind. And yet, the people there pulled TOGETHER and helped get things turned around.

The nuclear plant was damaged a lot worse than we knew, but the area continues to rebuild.

That is a true testament to humankind.

ATLANTIS ENDS AN ERA.

Our space shuttle program came to an end, and now, we only have the Russkies to help get OUR asses into space...talk about IRONY. The ones we beat in the space-race are now our celestial "benefactors" when it comes to space travel (near-earth orbit, anyway).
My, how times have changed.
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
Mother nature dealt a bad hand to MO this year with tornadoes causing devastation statewide, and again, we saw time and again that the PEOPLE in that area worked together to get things under control by helping ONE ANOTHER, and not sticking their hands out to the government while sitting on their asses.
ARIZONA & TEXAS WILDFIRES
While MO dealt with WATER and WINDS, these states dealt with FIRE...like a baptism of sorts...thousands of acres burned, houses lost, and yet, again, we see PEOPLE making the difference by assisting those in need. Truly a noble venture by the residents of these states.
THAILAND FLOODS
Over 12.8 MILLION people wee displaced by this, and to date, there was about $45 BILLION DOLLARS of damage.
Over 790 were listed as dead, and 58 of the country's 77 provinces affected. Many places are STILL under over 6 feet of water.
A ROYAL WEDDING
Prince William and Catherine Middleton were wed in a ceremony that caused over TWO BILLION people around the globe to watch.
It was nice to see something HAPPY occur for a change, and I'm sure many around the world were in need of such a diversion.
BIN LADEN NO MORE
Navy Seal Team Six took out OBL in a covert mission that went with only one small hitch - the loss of a spec ops stealth Blackhawk chopper.
The mission lasted less than an hour from entry to evac, and OBL's body (which was removed from the site) was listed as being "buried at sea".
But perhaps maybe ALL of him didn't take the long salty nap (some things you know but can't talk about)
POPULATION MILESTONE
The world reached SEVEN BILLION people....that's a lot of mouths to feed (and a lot of pensions to pay for)
Makes me wonder HOW MANY of that number are the troublemakers of the world, and why aren't we trying to cull THAT herd?
I guess McDonald's will have to change their signs out front AGAIN?
IRAQ WAR ENDS
U.S. troops officially left Iraq and are coming home (to a very quiet arrival...shades of 'Nam?). Officials "say" it's because to CELEBRATE would entice Islamic terrorists into action, especially against the U.S....(WTF doesn't with those towel-headed camel-jockeys?)
We're still in Afghanistan, and I don't see that going away in the very near future.
And although we lost about a THIRD LESS soldiers in the ENTIRE 9 years in Iraq, as compared to JUST the BATTLE of BASTOGNE, life to US here in America is still precious, especially when it's honorable and patriotic in scope.
GADDAFI NO MORE
We can't all take credit for this one...he was killed by locals, but one LESS dictator is ALWAYS a welcome thing in the world.
Next stop...Iran?
OCCUPY EVERYWHERE
Scores of people with NO sense of purpose, taking over streets, parks, and buildings...because THEY CAN...
Some say they want to "stick it to the man"...the RICH man.
The RICH man that creates JOBS...is an entrepreneur, and actually CONTRIBUTES to the nation's ECONOMY...
(and funds these loons to some degree, if only by the tents purchased to house these idiots)
LEGAL gatherings and protests are a given, but when the LAW says you have to leave...YOU LEAVE...period.
And stop your crying about being pepper-sprayed...you WERE warned.
Get a life and get busy BEING SOMEBODY!
*** To ME, these were the major events that we should recall in some fashion, for they best represent the spectrum of the human condition.
Now, if you have some others, please feel free to comment on them.
Variety IS the spice of life (but NOT the spice in the book DUNE).
*** Here's hoping that the NEXT year will bring about reform in the USA back to times when people were more honorable, had more integrity, anf you knew they were NOT speaking out of both sides of their mouths.
I'm not really into the whole "resolution" gig, except to say that I always RESOLVE to NOT make any New Years resolutions...LOL
What I would "like" to see for the new year is as varied as it is warranted.
-- Justice for ALL.
-- Turning IRAN into a lake of glass.
-- Killing ALL the Mexican drug cartel lords (and I mean ALL of them)
-- A LOT more civility among Americans (and they know who they are).
-- A MUCH quieter neighborhood (yeah, I can dream - the price is right)
-- LESS intrusion from the government into OUR lives (except those that need such "guidance")
That's my SHORT list, anyway...got lots more that I'm saving for NEXT year's posts.

*** So until NEXT year, at this same time, and same place, remember:
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.

2011-12-29T08:34:00.007-05:00

As the Year Winds Down...
There are many of us out there that believe that time speeds UP as we grow older, and I have to say I'm among them.
What seemed like a few years ago turns into DECADES before we seem to have time to catch our breath.
It's very hard to believe I've been out of high school for 41 years...that blows me away.
So many memories are still so damn vivid in nature.
And then there's all the years after THAT, with every assorted up and down life could toss at a person.
It's a wonder the human brain can store SO MUCH STUFF, and still function normally in an everyday environment.
I mean, what happens to your computer when the memory gets pretty full?
It slows down, has errors, hangs up, or even crashes altogether...but NOT our good old brain.
We take a licking and keep on ticking (as the old Timex ads used to say).
Now, I want you to hold that thought, because I'll come back to it soon enough.
I want to first do some followup stuff and some statistics that might open your eyes just a bit WIDER.
*** Here are two stories regarding the brutal murder of Aliahna Lemmon.
The first one describes the feelings around the trailer park:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111229/LOCAL/312299981
Now, I will grant you that there are trailer parks and then there are TRAILER PARKS. Some are good, while others...not so much.
And not everyone that lives in one is the dregs of society (THEY all somehow manage to get housing vouchers and move to MY part of the ghettohood).
MY grandmother and uncle moved to a great trailer park up in Melody Lakes along rt 309 near Quakertown, PA in the 1970s.
It even had it's own GOLF COURSE, and was beautifully landscaped.
It was more a retirement community than anything else, and it's still going strong (and the trees are a LOT taller).
Other trailer parks become havens for criminals of all sorts, and as can be the case with a roller coaster economy, a place for those who don't always have two nickels to rub against one another to live.
It can become a place to the disenfranchised of society.
But a house is a "house" even if it has wheels, right?
Some of these people don't even want to be there, but they simply have no choice at this point in their lives.
Still, it should be up to the management to review the people living there or wanting to move there.
(when they're not taking government money to place people there, that is).
It's not always the BEST place to "settle down", but it is a roof over your head.
The NEXT story deals with the biological FATHER of little Aliahna, who lives in Iowa and his returning to Fort Wayne for his daughter's funeral.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111229/LOCAL07/312299982
Dawayne Maroney, of Centreville, Iowa was provided with funds from the sheriff's department to return here, The sheriff and reserve deputies ponied up the costs so Maroney could come to Indiana, while other donations came from the community for food and lodging while here.
(that's a pretty tight-knit community, imho)
Contributions for a Aliahna Lemmon benefit fund can be made at three locations mentioned in this article.
But wait, there still more crime elsewhere in the Summit city...
*** Here's a link to yet another pizza deliveryman robbery:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111229/LOCAL07/111229511
At least in this case, the driver was relatively unharmed and his car wasn't stolen.
Nice to know the FWPD tracked the two perps down fast enough.
There was a gun involved, so the charges just went up a notch (or two).
Deantione (you figure out HOW to say it) Harris, 21 of the 6200 block of Downingtown Drive was arrested and charged with robbery (that should be ARMED robbery). Micheal Eldridge, 26, of the 7600 block of Mill Run Drive (located in Willow Crack...I mean CREEK Crossing Apartments), was also arrested and charged with robbery and being held without bail due to an outstanding warrant (yep, that's outstanding!), while Harris is also being held without bail.
Good thing that crime on the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE is going DOWN, right?
But wait, we've still more...
*** This story goes to show that you're NEVER too old to deal drugs down on the (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE of Fort Wayne:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111229/LOCAL07/111229508/1002/LOCAL
Seems that possession (and possible distribution) of methodone, MDMA, cocaine, ecstasy, and heroin WILL STILL net you a nice holiday stay in the Allen County lockup (yay...bologna sandwiches again).
Norman Caldwell, Sr., 66, of the 4600 block of Spatz Ave and Sharon Hood, 49, of the 300 block of E. Creighton Ave are now BOTH "guests" of the city & county, with Caldwell (who has a rap sheet for drugs going back to 1993 - and he's STILL on our streets with kids in the house) looking at a $5000 bond, while Hood faces a $102,500 bond (nasty girl).
EST assisted in both "visits" to the appropriate addresses in question.
*** And another "baby-boomer" goes bye-bye...
Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20111229/LOCAL07/312299934/1002/LOCAL
One Jerry L. Miars, age 61, of the 1200 block of Vance Ave. was arrested on fours counts of felony dealing a controlled substance, four counts of possession and one for paraphernalia.
Police found FIVE pounds of pilocybin "shrooms" in his house (uh, oh...that ain't good) with a street value of $6000, EIGHT lbs of pot worth $3000, and EIGHT lbs of salvia worth $4000, (what. no partridge is a pear tree?) along with other assorted pills, cash and a HANDGUN (oops - BIG uh-oh, there).
His bail WINS with a total of $223, 250 bucks! (wtg, Jerry...you finally won something)
*** Next up, some sobering statistics about our LEOs out there.
From the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/report-shows-us-police-fatalities-rose-13-percent-in-2011-as-firearms-related-killings-soared/2011/12/28/gIQA7ZNDMP_story.html
(yeah, it IS a long link, but worth the read)
Police officers were killed at a rate THIRTEEN PERCENT HIGHER than last year.
Last year, 153 officers died in the line of duty - THIS year, it rose to 173.
What is really startling is that the FIREARMS-RELATED deaths rose FIFTEEN PERCENT.
Sixty-eight (68) federal, state, and local officers were killed in 2011, and that's up from last year when 59 were killed.
This is the first time in 14 years that deaths by firearms topped traffic-related deaths.
That should make us all appreciate the job these men and women perform on our streets a little bit more, and remember what they do daily.
*** And that brings us back to where this post started...our memories.
We recall good times, bad times, and everything in between.
I think of events as mile-markers in one's life...guideposts if you will, meant to show us not only how far we've COME, but how far we've YET TO GO.
Happy events evoke times in our lives that allow us to kick back, and enjoy the trip, while tragic events serve to steel our resolve to do something...to make things right again.
And each of us manages to store all this "stuff" in something the size of a small grapefruit...that's not too shabby.
I suppose we should all be happy such information is not kept on some desktop, and I most certainly am.
Tomorrow, a brief look back at some of the things that made 2011 stand out.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.