Tuesday Tidbits...

Well friends, after four L...O...N...G...years, we're finally at the door that points us OUT of the asylum...we hope.
Now we all know that every channel (save Bravo and the "real housewives" shows...LOL) will be touting THE ELECTION...no getting around that.
And while I'm not attempting to trivialize it, I do think that too much of ANYTHING is not necessarily a GOOD thing.
What was it Ben Franklin used to say?
"Everything in MODERATION, nothing to excess."...yeah, that's the quote.
So, I will try my best to avoid most of the election drama, conjectures, possibilities, and even much of the tallies as they accumulate over the course of today.
Consider this much like a sit-down, linen-tabled restaurant outing...
You already KNOW what you WANT, and you KNOW the ingredients that go into it, but all you're REALLY concerned about is the RESULT...or in this case, what winds up on your plate in front of you for the money you're putting out.
We'll come back to that in a moment, but first, some other things need taking care of.
*** An update to the stolen I-Pads on the SE side of town...
Seems this was NOT the first one stolen...and not in another part of Ft. Wayne.

Two days prior to the latest theft, another one was taken from another 16-year old student, and police are looking for a beige Ford Explorer in that matter.
And it was in and around the same neighborhood...imagine that.
Here's the "4-1-1" on this:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/police-warn-parents-of-students-with-ipads-laptops-about-thieves-mre
In both thefts, the perps were BLACK MALES...(couldn't see THAT one coming, he said sarcastically).
Personally, driving a BEIGE anything wouldn't be on my list of vehicles.
The comments on the story page are worth a read as well as the video there.
Meanwhile, back at the Study Hall...
*** Yes, Virginia, the East coast is awaiting another storm, slated to hit them by tomorrow...and the area is STILL reeling from Hurricane Sandy.

If you notice a difference between the east coasters and those in say, southern Indiana or even Joplin, MO, (from last year) go to the head of the class.
In THOSE two cases, the people didn't even wait for FEMA to show up...because THEY knew it would take some time, so they helped one another.
The STATES kicked it into high gear, rather than depend on the FEDS to act...and with good reason.

But, along the coast, people are (a week later) standing around wondering WHERE FEMA IS...?
You could say it's the density of the population that's the reason, and maybe that's correct to some degree, but it's the PEOPLE that acted in Joplin and elsewhere that makes the difference. Many along the coast are just of a mindset that allows the government to take care of whatever goes wrong.
We used to call it SELF-RELIANCE for a reason a while back...and that never let us down at all.
But when a sense of FEAR permeates part of a society, they will turn to anyone to relieve that fear...(yes, even the federal government).
*** And that brings me to the next item on today's agenda.

There is a speech in the movie "V For Vendetta" that exemplifies much of what ails society in trying times, and even though the movie came out during the Bush administration (the graphic novel came out a decade before), much of what is said during this monologue should make us all think.
Here is that speech.
(to the people of London after "V" takes over the city's broadcast station):
"Good evening, London.
Allow me first to apologize for this interruption.
I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration - whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday - I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.
There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak.
I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way.
Why?
Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power.
Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth.
And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?
Cruelty and injustice...intolerance and oppression.
And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.
How did this happen?
Who's to blame?
Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable.
But again, truth be told...if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.
I know why you did it.
I know you were afraid.
Who wouldn't be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor Adam Sutler.
He promised you order. He promised you peace.
And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.
Last night, I sought to end that silence.
Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten.
More than four hundred years ago, a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words - they are perspectives.
So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked.
But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek...then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament.
And together, we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever, be forgot! "

-- There is much to consider in that speech, whether it's the denial of one's god-given rights, the ability to voice one's opinion without retribution, or even the fact that people will turn to ANYONE in times of crisis, rather than seek a solution they might have to unite for and work towards.
The agenda of the government in this movie has a few parallels to the past four years here in America, and whether that was by accident or design is something you must decide for yourselves.
Curiously enough, there is another quote in the movie that I'm quite fond of, and I believe it embodies the essence of any well-run society:
"People should not be afraid of their government...government should be afraid of it's people."
And along those lines, know that YOU have the power to invoke change in our nation.
While there will be those who would have you think that your vote or your voice doesn't matter, this is the type of fear that is planted among a country's people.
If left unchecked, that fear will grow until your liberties, freedoms and rights are supplanted BY that fear.

Thankfully, we ALL have a choice, and today is the best day to enact that choice.

Now, I'm not casting aspersions at anyone in these political races (much), but I would caution you all to THINK about our recent past, and then ponder one of two possible futures. One future we already know because it will be a continuation of that recent past.
The other, although a bit more "unknown", can be a more hopeful future, based on overcoming challenges, changing only that which requires change, and relying on faith in those we choose to serve this nation, who will do what's in the best interest for ALL this nation's citizens, both here AND abroad.
*** Lastly today, we stand at a crossroads in this country, and through all the years I've been a citizen of this great nation, I have never been more concerned about one of those possible futures.

I believe this country IS still the greatest on the planet, and yes, we do have our problems, but it's nothing that cannot be overcome with the proper leadership, and the right amount of devotion to a higher authority, upon which much of our nation's tenets were based.
The crossroads can only take us on a very finite number of directions.
And like any journey, we might wind up on some rough road for a spell, or encounter a detour here and there.
But our destination (to prosperity with a thriving nation) should be all too clear to us now.
We've had FOUR years to think on it, after all.
Life is all about making choices....I've said that numerous times here, and I think you're all in agreement on that point.

Every day should become an exercise in trying to make the BEST choices we can, given the knowledge we acquire, and the proper wisdom to apply such knowledge.
So, make the BEST choice you can today...and every day after that, and allay your fear in knowing you are doing the right thing for the right reason.

And may God bless this nation.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...

Stay SAFE out there, America.