Monday Musings...
Wow...a new week, a new month....same old neighborhood.
Amazing that no matter how much some things change, others remain the same...year after year.
** The Grammy awards were (and have been for some time) a real joke, so I didn't watch it.
** The Super Bowl is coming like a jail on wheels. Better to call it the Super HYPE (bowl) instead. Cripes, they even have Haitian children that have come to America for treatment and care clothed in COLTS shirts...!
** Obama and the GOP met over the weekend...nice to see the President in the HOT SEAT for a change (I can believe in)...heh.
But a word of caution here...we should be wary when the President seems to pander to the Republicans and moves a bit to the "right"...there is STILL a progressive agenda in place here, and those people really dislike having their plans dashed, especially by all of us "stupid" people.
** But the really interesting stories follow right on the heels of an article that appeared in SATURDAY'S paper.
The headline read:
Major crime in city down 8% in 2009 - Chief credits targeted police work.
Here's the link to the entire story: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100130/LOCAL07/301309986
Now that's a very "amusing" article, considering the following:
(( Reed St. shooting possible homicide - Victim fled to house, later died at hospital / Jeff Wiehe - The Journal Gazette
Fort Wayne police were investigating what could be the city's fourth homicide of the year Sunday night.
Police responded to a shooting in the 5200 block of Reed Street about 8:30 p.m. and found a man suffering from at least one gunshot wound.
Details remained sketchy, according to police spokeswoman Liza Thomas. She said the southeast-side shooting involved more than one person, and the victim was taken to a hospital where he later died.
Thomas described the shooting victim as a 32-year-old Fort Wayne man but did not identify him.
The shooting victim was apparently in a car when he was shot, Thomas said. He got out of the car and ran to a house. The car, which was in gear, traveled south on Reed and struck a parked car in the driveway at the end of the street.The driver's-side window of the victim's car was shattered.
Thomas did not provide the address of the home the victim ran to, but officers were seen snapping photos of a single-story home at 5226 Reed St. Witnesses were being interviewed, Thomas said. No arrests have been made. ))
And while we're on the subject, how about an update to a story from late last week:
(( Published: February 1, 2010 3:00 a.m.
Police identify slaying victim - Tests pending on whether gun killed woman - Journal Gazette
The Saturday shooting death of a 20-year-old Fort Wayne woman has been ruled a homicide.
Kamilla Wallace was shot to death after a fight among several women at an after-hours club at 2624 Central Drive, on the city’s southeast side, about 5:15 a.m. Saturday, according to preliminary autopsy results.
Her death is the county’s third homicide this year.
Police said 30 to 60 people were at the house, which has a sign on the front porch that advertises "Big City" partying for a $2 cover charge, when the fight broke out. It’s unclear what prompted the brawl, although witnesses told police the women stopped fighting for a moment and then started again.
Someone then fired at least two shots, according to Fort Wayne police. Medics declared Wallace dead shortly after they arrived.
Police questioned a woman who was at the party and recovered a firearm from her vehicle. She was not arrested.
Investigators are waiting to see whether the gun matches the one used to kill Wallace.
Police said it’s unclear whether Wallace was the intended target of the shots. ))
Okay...everyone following SO far?
We've had FOUR homicides (possibly) JUST in January this year...and "major" crime is going DOWN...???
(ahem)
HOW, exactly is that possible, because the LAST time I checked, MURDER / HOMICIDE was considered a MAJOR crime.
(except if I were to practice MY version of "urban renewal"...then it would be a PUBLIC SERVICE)
We're ahead of LAST year in homicides (so far), and if we manage to keep this pace, we'll more than reach the magic *25* for the year (with a few to spare). That's not indicative (to me) of any type of decrease in a major crime.
I guess all other crime has dropped so much that it all balances out.
But hey, this city LOVES to fudge numbers...look at the Harrison Square and the Renaissance Square projects, for example...
The costs keep climbing over and above what we were initially told (and promised)...nice.
So it must also be for crime, I suppose.
Now you have to understand a few things as to why these homicides happened.
In the "after-hours club" shooting, the "house" in question is supposed to be a Masonic "lodge"...well, then that MUST make me the POPE (not bad for a Methodist).
Perhaps the Masons need to be notified?
Perhaps the excise police need to shake this house (and owner) down?
Perhaps NCE needs to go through this house with a fine-tooth comb?
How about ALL of the above?
Let's just say operations like this one are NOT legal...period, shall we?
Let's also say that when police roll up, you don't peek out the door, then close and LOCK it with a dead woman inside.
Just try creating a crime scene perimeter with 50-60 party people milling about, all talking/shouting at once and all on some cell phone.
Yeah, that's "interesting" to say the least.
Let's say you may also have evidence of serious drug use about the place.
Makes me wonder who's paying for this crash-pad "club" anyway?
But maybe this young woman would not be dead if she didn't go to a place where people are carrying guns, either on their person OR in their vehicles, hmm?
It's ALL about decisions...consequences...and priorities in one's life.
Screw up bad enough...long enough...and it WILL catch up to 'ya.
Kamilla found that out all to suddenly.
As to the Reed St. shooting by the renter...
Well, although ONE thug was killed, others did get away, and knowing the neighborhood, this renter could also be considered a "playa"...difference being he was a little faster on the trigger than the home invader that was shot.
You also have to take into consideration that many of these types of people pack some serious heat...like large caliber handguns and assault rifles like an SKS or AK.
Too many times, criminals will target a house that they KNOW contains "things of interest", be they drugs, weapons, or other items that can easily be turned into "foldin' money" at the local fence or pawn shop.
And also, many of these people LOVE to brag...remember, it IS all about "entertainment" to them, so they will mouth off to their (so-called) friends at the drop of a blunt. That sets them up for being robbed...or worse.
That's just the "nature of the beast" down here...much like it is in certain parts of Philly.
I've seen enough and been in enough houses and apartments to know the pattern of behavior.
It's just another version of "Can't feed or clothe the kids, but I got a nice ride...or stereo...or big screen TV" mentality.
See, that's where "we" come in...the taxpayers.
WE front the goods and services that these kids need, while baby-mama and baby-daddy go do their "own thing" for their OWN self-aggrandizement (how's THAT for a "word of the day, O'Reilly?).
How pathetic that is...but oh so true.
But it IS nice to know that crime has DROPPED a whopping EIGHT PERCENT...(according to Chief Rusty)!
Gee, at THAT rate, I'll be able to WALK THE SIDEWALKS (and not in the streets like some 3rd world Nigerian throwback) during the day again by August....like NORMAL PEOPLE should be able to do.
(right...when pigs fly)
Sorry, Rus...ain't seeing this "drop" in major crime...not down here.
Maybe YOU spoke a bit TOO SOON?
I'm just seeing more of the same old...and that doesn't work for me and any others who still are trying to live their lives down here. The quadrant I live in has the highest expenditure of FWPD resources, and YET...we are still seeing incidents like the above occur with regularity...why IS that?
You know, it's not dishonorable to ASK FOR OUTSIDE HELP when you need it, chief. You always "ask" for the citizens to help out and come forward.
Phil Marx tried helping...
I have been helping with my neighborhood...
And I'm sure others have also been helping with problems in THEIR areas...
Why aren't WE seeing a return for our "investment"?
Just because we aren't victims (yet) doesn't mean there is NO crime.
I maintain we only have a crime problem because we have a PEOPLE problem.
People cause crime..it's that simple.
Guns don't cause crime, nor do knives, bats, pipes, cars, or any other device that can turned against another human being in anger.
(yes, that does include leaf rakes, library paste, and Ticonderoga #2 pencils)
When you begin to address the PEOPLE problem, you WILL get a much better handle on the crime.
And don't you dare blame the educational system...or the economy...or poverty...or even George Bush.
People such as the aforementioned CHOOSE to do what they do; create mayhem and chaos in their neighborhoods.
They KNOW FULL WELL what they're doing, and couldn't give a rat's ass to any consequences.
THAT mindset HAS to end...and soon.
Life has never contained a RESET button...and never will.
You get one chance at life...ONE. That's it.
It's up to every one of us to make it the BEST one we can...
So do well today, make a difference, and...
Stay safe out there, America.