Friday Follies...

Welcome to the WEEKEND...at long last!
More heat and some humidity tossed into the mix today for the Summit city, with temps again expected in the mid-90s.
So, just because all the stores have those "back-to-school" sales, that doesn't mean you put away the Hawaiian Tropic, shorts or fans...keep 'em ALL at the ready...you're probably going to need a combination of them for a bit longer.
With that said, let's take a gander into what has been going on around us, fair enough?
*** First up today a very disturbing story from the Motor City (which has been highly disturbed for the last few decades).
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120803/NEWS03/308039975/1006/NEWS

Yes, I would suppose that THESE days, hiding a DB (dead body) in Detroit is VERY easy.
In a city that USED to be in the TOP FIVE as as far population goes, Motown has hit extremely hard times...and, truth be told, it's all been BY DESIGN.
When you're one of a handful of people left in an area that used to be FILLED with families, it can take a physical AND mental toll on you.
When you see your neighborhood CHANGE around you, and NOT for the better...it can get scary at times.
(I speak from experience here.)
For some, scary has become the ROUTINE in their lives...like for 74-year old Ella Dunn, the woman mentioned in the story.

You look at these once NICE neighborhoods, and I swear, you could film some sort of post-apocalyptic movie on the damn streets...like a news season of THE WALKING DEAD...(only many of the DEAD found there are far from being able to walk, as police find out whenever they come across a body).

Sometimes, a person walking down some desolate block comes across a DB...it's that much of a problem.

And that's aside from ALL the "short-dumping" that goes on...bathroom fixtures, furniture and bags of crap just tossed along the area.
What few houses left standing are in deplorable condition, save for the (fewer still) occupied homes.
Some can say ti was the AUTO industry who's to blame...well, the auto industry is STILL clicking along...that hasn't changed.
What HAS changed was allowing the wrong people to come into neighborhoods, chasing the good folks out, and the good folks can be blamed for NOT taking a damn stand and saying "we're not going to put up with this sh*t in OUR neighborhood".
All the while, the politicians stood by and did nothing.

And, as we all know, when a city's tax base erodes and jobs move elsewhere, along with the PEOPLE that used to work them, their tax MONEY goes WITH THEM...and then you have to shave city services, deny raises, cut staff, and so on.
What you're eventually left with is a city of less than 700,000 that is used to serving over TWO MILLION...and provide services for THAT number...
Can't be done, because much of the tax revenue has gone bye-bye, so you cut...and cut...and cut some more, except for all the freebie programs that created and fostered that "entitlement mentality" allowing people who SHOULD be working to NOT be working, and that also cannot be sustained.
Helluva snowball down one HELLUVA mountain, don'cha think?
That's what leads to cities like San Bernadino, CA going belly-up (third city in THAT state).
The pension programs for all the public safety people cannot be sustained now, and that takes more money out of the coffers...with nothing (or very little) going back in...a very VICIOUS circle that needs to be broken ASAP.
Time will tell if anyone has a real plan to save our cities...
*** This is the kind of story that invariably follows one like the previous tale.
Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120803/LOCAL07/308039944/1002/LOCAL
Here we have a woman caught committing FOOD STAMP FRAUD...big surprise THERE, hmm?

Angel L. Fink, 27, of the 2200 block of Barr St lied on applications when she filed for "assistance".
She had a BotM (boyfriend of the month, as I like to call 'em) living with here, and apparently HE was making some scratch, which would have rendered her ineligible for food stamps.... so she did what ALL of these folks do...LIE THEIR ASS OFF and said he didn't live with her, and hope they don't get caught.
Angel DID...to the tune of $21,585.
Now, had she SAID he lived with her, she WOULD have been eligible (???).
Yeah, it's a convoluted program, meant to confuse..at least to those of us that don't "game the system".
Thank the PROGRESSIVES for such wonderful things...
*** Da Prez just signed ANOTHER executive order, an THIS one is a beaut...
Here's the link:
http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/27/obama-backs-race-based-school-discipline-policies/

"RACE-BASED" discipline???
Called "The White House Initiative On Educational Excellence", this is basically designed to (once again) level the playing field because we ALL know that ONLY BLACKS are disciplined more severely than any OTHER race or ethnicity...such BS is beyond the scope of comprehension (imho).
But, if the BLACK kids are the ones causing problems in schools (with guns and other weapons in backpacks and drugs in their lockers, as we see in the FWCS districts), then should they NOT be disciplined based on the SEVERITY of the infraction to school policy?
What this will mean is that WHITES and ASIANS will get summarily suspended for things the BLACK kids don't get suspended for.

Much of ALL this has to do with the 70% of black kids born out of wedlock...the decay of the TRADITIONAL family, and the lack of accountability of he BLACK MEN to "own up" to THEIR responsibilities in a serious relationship...it's that simple.
And the article backs that up...totally.
Gonna be a fun time in the classroom in the near future, unless this new inequality gets the boot out the nearest school room door.
*** Gabby Douglas wins GOLD in London.

This is a great story about a great kid with such starry-eyed optimism.
And the ability to ACHIEVE...endure the rioguh things and come through a winner.
I look at her smile and I find myself smiling...it's that infectious.

She does remind me of the girl in the movie The Polar Express, too...such a similarity.
And that girl in the movie was born to lead...much the same can be said for young Gabby.
Michael Phelps gets his 20th Gold, and we're FINALLY ahead of China in overall medals.
Here's the link to the current result.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/medals/index.html
And HERE:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/medals/
With track & field still to go, this will be quite interesting...I mean, i want to see WHO is the "fastest man on the planet"...aside from THE FLASH...lol.
*** Lastly today...I have to say it - the government has NO DAMN BUSINESS in making things like these it's "business" in the first place.

This is all about CONTROL...plain and simple.
They want to control us...when WE should all be busy controlling OURSELVES.
When you allow someone else to drive, and you don't know where you're going or how you'll get there, you COULD wind up in Bumf$ck, Egypt.
It's like when the mob "takes you for a ride...BLINDFOLDED"...somehow, you get the distinct feeling that it's not going to wind up as an all-day fun-filled outing at SIX FLAGS...(probably some vacated and dilapidated neighborhood in Detroit instead), right?

There comes a time in every person's existence when they ALL have to get with the program, and that program is called LIFE.
You chart your course, set sail, and prepare for some of the worst weather you can imagine...but you ALSO know that you are determined to come just a s good, if not better on the other side.
Many seek a higher guidance in that proposition, while others rely on their own ability to adapt, and move forward.
Whatever works to make you a better individual should be the key, as long as you don't seek to harm others, or attempt to defraud another person OR yourself. One thing we do well is lie to ourselves, and the first step is being TRUTHFUL with yourself.
Get over THAT hurdle, and things become a bit easier to deal with.
And any one if us can overcome such hurdles...much like our very own Olympians.
I look at them and I see a good future...good role models...and a good sense of self in their eyes.
Would that a lot MORE people would see as much in them...as well as themselves.
They might be surprised in a good way...for a change.

Do have yourselves a fantastic weekend.

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...

Stay SAFE out there, America.