Friday Follies...
Wow...here we are again at the beginning of yet another weekend (with a SHADE UNDER two weeks of SHOPPING left until Christmas). Where the hell does the time seem to go?
Seemed like Thanksgiving was a few days ago, and BOOM...smack dab in the middle of the CHRISTMAS season!
I will say the Internet makes shopping a LOT easier, but we'll be talking about that NEXT week, along with some other fun holiday stuff.
In the meantime, let's take a look into what is going down all over the place, shall we?
** Tonight's sunset begins the Hebrew celebration of Chanukah (or Hannukah), otherwise known as the Festival of Lights.
here's the WIKI on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah
This is NOT a "contrived" or manufactured holiday like Kwanzaa...just so you all know...Chanukah is a FOR REAL celebration with REAL history.
Just so we're clear on this.
So spin that dreidel and pass me some of those chocolate coins, will 'ya?
And screw those "festivus" shrubs AND all those shrubs pushing anything BUT a REAL holiday...we're doing CHRISTMAS and CHANUKAH, people.
No political-correctness here...JUST the TRUTH.
(not too shabby for a shoutin' Methodist, eh?)
** If you thought the first "stimulus" bill was expensive...or "cash for clunkers" was expensive, or even that 2000 page "health care" bill that no one seems to have read (and the people don't want, but will be shoved down our collective throats anyway) was going to cost us plenty, my friends, we ain't done yet by a LONG SHOT!
Get ready, because the LATEST SCAM is headed to a paycheck near you.
And none other than "deer in the headlights" Pelosi is at the helm of THIS doomed ship.
(anyone want to call up James Cameron...just in case?)
We've got a MASSIVE SPENDING BILL waiting in the wings that was JUST passed by the House.
Here's the link to the entire article:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091211/NEWS03/312119950
THIS bill is ONLY a mere 1,088 pages in length (whew...thank God...maybe SOMEONE will bother to READ this one?), but will cost $1.1 TRILLION in operating costs! (this bunch of spend-happy democratic cronies toss around the word TRILLION like others USED to toss around the word MILLION....got news for them...they're NOT synonymous, people) Of course there are OVER 5000 "earmarks" (yummy...more PORK) totaling $3.9 BILLION. But, the ever-resourceful DEMS have yet another ace up their smarmy sleeves...
It's called RAISE THE DEBT CEILING (so it doesn't look like we owe that much MORE).
Man, that's like making a "D" in the classroom akin to a "B"...change the rules instead of playing the game CORRECTLY. Nobody fails, right?
Why not just upset the damn game board while you're at it?
I mean, if you dumbocrats are gonna act like a spoiled child, do it RIGHT!
Oh, did I mention that this DOES NOT even include the $676 BILLION DEFENSE SPENDING BILL?
(that's being held in reserve so this administration can shove through more pork on THAT bill claiming THAT is "must-pass" legislation which will have tucked within it something called "raising the CAP on government BORROWING).
Well that sure as hell makes sense, especially when Pelosi (remember her?) WANTS to RAISE the nation's DEBT CEILING.
But don't take MY word for it...here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091211/NEWS03/312119976
Now this "debt ceiling" is already at $12.1 TRILLION bucks!
(and they can't even come close to paying THAT off in the near future)
Naturally, they just "have" to raise the cap by 31 December, or risk running OUT OF MONEY for SOCIAL SECURITY and VETERANS benefits...(WTF????).
(betcha WELFARE wasn't affected, though)
Why not take some of that UNUSED TARP money from the first stimulus and PAY BACK SSI and the VETS...just a thought?
Or better yet...how about NOT blowing the wad on stupid-ass health care that close to EIGHTY PERCENT of the people don't need OR want? C'mon now....use your frigging BRAINS, for Christ's sake!
I'm no economist, but I DO know about BASIC finances, borrowing, credit and something called MONEY.
And I'm sure you readers know a lot about those as well.
That's because all of you PAID ATTENTION and learned from mistakes, and practiced something called FRUGALITY.
Be nice if those in D.C. stopped worrying about their vast fortunes and took a few pages from the "regular citizen manifesto" when it comes to budgetary management within the household...right?
We got about as good a chance of THAT happening than we do of seeing GOD headlining the halftime show at the next COLTS game!
But I digress...it's not ALL about the dumbasses running the nation...
** We've got a few dumbasses locally, trying their best to become guests of the local lockup (when they get caught, that is).
And here's the proof:
((Armed robbers strike 2 stores. Suspects at large; link unclear in morning attacks
Michael Zennie-The Journal Gazette
Fort Wayne police are investigating two armed robberies at south-side Family Dollar stores Thursday morning.
The first occurred at 3312 E. Paulding Road about 9 a.m. According to a police report, a man entered the store and initially acted as if he was shopping. He approached a cashier, pulled a handgun and demanded money. He then threatened to "shoot up" the store if anyone called police, according to the report.
The robber fled on foot toward the nearby Ashley Court Apartments. Police tried to track him into the complex but couldn’t locate a suspect that matched the description, police said.
The second robbery took place about 11:40 a.m. less than two miles away at 5307 Decatur Road. Police said a man ran into the store and began slashing at a cashier with a knife.
He grabbed a second employee and demanded money from both.
A second man who entered the store but stayed by the door told the employees to open the cash drawer. After taking money from the register, both men fled, according to police.
Complete descriptions of the robbers were not available. It’s unclear whether the robberies were related.))
Both of those stores are close by to us here. One is within walking distance (across from where the Scott's grocery used to be), and it's about the THIRD time that place has been robbed (in as many years since it opened).
Why would it be "unclear" if these crimes are related?
I think it's VERY clear. Sure, these two robberies might NOT have been perped by the same punk-ass thugs. One robbery was with a gun, while the other was like several others in the same area...committed with a KNIFE.
Both crimes were committed by blacks, although the story doesn't relate that.
How do I know?
C'mon...it's the SE side...where ELSE are you going to find the greatest mass of blacks with a reason to get up early and rob a store in their area? I LIVE here...and I see all kinds of sh*t going down that even the police can't notice, because they aren't sitting down here 24/7/365.
They simply don't have the resources available, and they're too busy going from call to call to call.
Personally, I think we need more store owners like the one at that X-rated video place near K-mart plaza, or the man at Belmont Beverage (across the street from that same plaza)...both of whom did shoot and kill the perps trying to rob their stores.
Just this morning, as I was walking the missus out to the garage (where her car was warming up), a black man in a minivan pulls into our driveway, gets out and asks where he can get a headlight fixed.
Now first off, if I don't KNOW you and if you don't really belong in my driveway (i.e. not an expected repair person), it might be to your continued health to REMAIN in or beside your vehicle.
When on MY property, I AM packing...and I WILL shoot you...dead, should I even THINK my life is in danger (in my neighborhood, it PAYS to be that way). And I don't need a damn CCP when I'm on MY PROPERTY...you gotta love that.
Anyway, I told the man there was a repair shop ONE block down on Pettit...and he drove off (too dark to get a tag number).
And I find it very odd that anyone gives a damn down here about getting a headlight fixed....besides US.
I see WAY too many vehicles with blown out headlights, tail lights, license plate bulbs, and they NEVER seemed to get yanked over for something "that trivial"...(must be Chief Rusty's dictate)...but I know in Columbus, OH...you WILL get fined for ANY light being out.
Still,this is not the type of thing normal people are exposed to that early...but I come to expect anything in this area.
Now he could have been totally innocent...or he could have wanted to jump the missus...I don't know, and personally, I don't give a damn. All I know is that of ALL the places to pull into, he chose us for some reason, when he could have just drove down to the repair shop and used a phone or sat there until the place opened (after 0700 hrs).
I would rather err on the side of caution than become a statistic, as would you.
But THIS is the result you get when you have decades of unresolved issues in certain parts of our cities.
You have decent people either leaving the area, or remaining, but always on guard and ready to take a life to protect other lives.
Will I give anyone down here the benefit of the doubt?
Not in a Philly heartbeat!
They have to PROVE to me, in no certain terms that they are worthy of me NOT suspecting them. Notice I did not use the word TRUST.
I would be hard-pressed to go that far with nearly everyone down here...they are simply not worth my trust, because I see no reason TO trust them. And if I DID trust them , it would be about as far as I can toss the Statue of Liberty.
I've known my share of trustworthy people, as well as my share of shiftless people who can never be trusted one damn bit.
And I can know with a level of confidence WHERE (categorically) any of these locals fall.
When our city leaders get off their good-old-boy asses, and start doing something about crimes like this, things WILL become better, but until those days arrive, there will be people who will not stand down whenever criminal activity hits their area.
There are still those of us who would not wish to become another statistic and a footnote on the police blotter.
And we are the ones the criminals should be watching out for.
This nation was founded by people not willing to live under tyrannical rule, and criminals love to "rule" an area tyrannically.
Our founders provided for the "common defense" of our homes, as well as for the nation itself.
This is our RIGHT...not anyone else's to play with as they see fit.
And it's about time the true and proper rights of the people were acknowledged.
We are the sum total of our experiences, along with a history steeped in challenging oneself.
We do not turn away when things get tough.
We do the right things...for the right reasons.
And that is a part of what it means to be an American.
Do have a great weekend, and...
Stay safe out there, America.