Twas the Day Before Friday....

...And it was STILL friggin' COLD outside!
(okay, so I ain't no poet this morning...sue me...lol)
Seems like the past few days, weather-wise, with the exception of a dusting of snow.
Highs today are expected around the lower twenties AGAIN.
Another inch of snow possible in the Summit City between this evening and tomorrow morning.
That should separate the neophytes from the pros when it comes to driving, and will prove once again that bald tires are really a BAD idea in conditions such as these. We used to call them "baloney-skins"...or MAYPOPS, because they may pop at any minute...LOL.
Anywho, let's get back INSIDE, sit back, enjoy a hot beverage, and see what's been going on since last we met.
*** First shot downrange today is the answer to yesterday's Motto of the Week:

"The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what a man or woman is able to do that counts."

This is attributed to Booker T. Washington.

And naturally, he has a wonderfully lengthy and informative WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington
God, could we use a man such as HIM in the White House instead!
Educator, author, orator, and advisor to republican presidents...how can you top that?
Interestingly enough, he was criticized by both W.E.B. DuBois and the fledgling NAACP (founded by old white men, BTW) because of a lack of "confrontation" with those who fostered racism.

Washington believed that COOPERATION with supportive whites was a much better route to take.

Still, he was a very influential individual. rubbing elbows with such men of the times as Standard Oil magnate Henry H. Rogers, Sears Roebuck president Julius Rosenwald, and George Eastman, inventor and founder of Kodak.

Those men helped fund many of the Hampton and Tuskegee institutes, which were primarily created for producing TEACHERS.
Washington wrote an autobiography, UP FROM SLAVERY, which became a best seller back in 1901.
And it was Washington who PUBLISHED it as well.

He was the FIRST black American to be depicted on a U.S. stamp in 1940.

And he was the FIRST black American to be depicted on a half dollar from 1945-1951. (love to find me one of THOSE)

Truly a man of vast talent, education and insight...and someone that I have always admired.

He would make a much better leader of this nation today than the one who sits there now, that's for sure.
Moving on...
*** Next round to hit the ten-ring today...A death investigation on the city's (where else?) SOUTHEAST side...
Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130124/LOCAL07/301249986

This happened at the Anthony Wayne Village Centre, located at 4331 S. Anthony Blvd. (basically a strip mall, relatively vacant, thanks to all the damn crime around there).
Initially police were called out about 1310 hrs for an anonymous person reporting one DB and possibly another in the lot across from the Belmont Beverage, located at 4308 S. Anthony.
They then hung up.
When police arrived on scene, they checked out the liquor store area and the area mentioned in the call, but found no one there at that time.
An hour later, an owner of a business IN the strip mall called, reporting a strange ODOR coming from the space, and that people inside needed help.
FWPD, FWFD, and EMTs were dispatched to the store front, where they DID find the two women, one of which was pronounced dead on scene.

Seems like some REALLY shady sh*t going on here.

Reports stated that one woman was dead and the other was in respiratory distress...

That leads me to believe that there was some sort of fumes in the area the women were found, although FWFD reported no gas or other fumes.
Still, why is a "storage area" being used by two women?
Were they being allowed to stay there because of the cold? Were they homeless?
Were there drugs involved with this empty space, and was it being used as a place to partake in said drugs?
I would LOVE to nab a copy of the DBs "tox report", and find out WHAT she died of.
Wouldn't surprise me if it was some sort of asphyxiation.
On THIS side of town, the maxim should be:
NEVER RULE ANYTHING OUT...because THAT is what probably caused it.
*** Here we have a "stove-pipe" round - Hillary Clinton at the Senate Hearings....and what a time it was...!
I didn't watch the hearings, but there was enough video clips and audio bites to satisfy even the most skeptical among us.
Hillary started out by sobbing a bit (crocodile tears)
Then, many of the men there began kissing her ass! (disgusting)
They prattled on about her service, her diligence...yada, yada, yada...
Then, we got to see Hillary get pissed off....and about damn time, too.
She stated the following:
“The fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest? Or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?”
Sure...what difference DOES it make...four dead...try telling THAT to THEIR families and loved ones, sweetheart!
But, she did have ONE saving grace...she used her JAZZ HANDS...!

Now THAT certainly makes all the difference, doesn't it?
Jazz hands solves and defrays most ANY situation...right?
Here's the story as presented:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130124/NEWS03/301249988

Sen. Rand Paul called her out, however, and it...was...BRILLIANT!

Paul stated: “Had I been president at the time and I found that you did not read the cables from Benghazi, you did not read the cables from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post,”

Paul told Clinton. “I think it’s inexcusable.”
Bravo....I KNEW I liked this guy for a reason...!
And HE didn't have to resort to using JAZZ HANDS, either...so THERE!
About damn time that SOMEONE named Clinton wasn't allowed to "wiggle off the damn hook".
*** Last shot out of the mag today...if you notice, not ONE mention of guns (well, perhaps a few inferences but no REAL mention...until NOW anyway...lol)...and like you always hear me say...it's NEVER about guns (or most any other "thing" )...it's about PEOPLE.

And here we have representatives across the board of society.
We have one remarkable man who did more in HIS life than generations would do in theirs, others doing dubious things, and even a politician acting as "political" as is humanly possible (and that's not always a good thing).
People make things happen, whether it be good OR bad.
People can allow things to stagnate...OR they can inspire change for the better.
And I think that, given the opportunity, many of us that ARE paying attention and ARE trying to do the right things in life, would rather attempt to become more like Booker T. Washington, than a Hillary Clinton.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.