7-11 Is USUALLY a Winner...

Or it's a convenience store, depending on where you're at and what you're doing.
Yes, that's today's date, and the only win I'm happy about is that I woke up and had my coffee.
Anything else is icing on that cake.
After some nice downpours yesterday, things have cooled down nicely. The Heartland weather-cycle has been broken for the time being..
The temps today will only reach to 80 degrees, and mostly sunny today with a lot less chance of rain.
And the best part? The HUMIDITY will be a lot lower, thanks to a dew point in the 50 degree range...hallelujah!
So, let's enjoy the day and get busy with all the "fun"stuff that's been going on.
*** First up, the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? Quote:
"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home."

This was spoken by our old buddy, CONFUCIUS (551-479 B.C.).
And here's his WIKI, in case you hadn't bookmarked it yet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius
The read is a rather lengthy one, but you might come to understand something about yourself in the process.
When it comes to things like ETHICS. I feel this man had few, if any equals.
His ethics were based upon something called VIRTUE.
His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled JUDGMENT, rather than knowledge of a set of rules.
I guess he figured with better judgment, rules would not be as necessary, and he's spot on there.
The reason we have LAWS is for those who can't make a good decision when it comes to being LAWFUL or LAWLESS.
Like I said, you'll probably wind up nodding in agreement with a lot of his beliefs.
He's not bad...for a non-Christian...lol.
Moving on...
*** Next out the door today...If you want something to happen (or not), you have to say or do something...like when you wash your car, and then it RAINS.  
In this case, I spoke TOO SOON about the crime down here this week being on the LAX side...
Not one...but TWO shootings in the Summit City yesterday, which sent BOTH victims to hospital in critical condition.
Our mayor kinda jumped the gun (no pun intended) when he goes and spouts off about this city being "safe", because that's a HIGHLY RELATIVE term.
It totally depends on WHERE YOU LIVE, as to whether or not YOU feel "safe", and what YOU determine that also changes your particular feeling.
By the looks of things, the areas where people feel LESS safe IS growing, as I said it would if the city didn't get a handle on the crime it already had (that was branching our of the SE area).
-- Shooting number 1:
This happened yesterday around 1245 hrs in the 4200 block of Lillie St. near Rudisill.
here's the story link:

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130711/LOCAL07/307119985
The victim was driven to the FWFD station 11 at 405 E. Rudisill in a purple Impala (that's a popular color down here), where he was then transported to hospital in serious condition, later downgraded to critical.

Could be worse - the car coulda been PINK!

A neighbor had heard 3 gunshots, and soon saw two men load the victim into the Impala.
A male, believed to be the shooter, was seen fleeing the scene with a bag, but K-9 units lost the track after a block.
A hat, believed to belong to the shooter was recovered from a church across the street from that house.

Love the "Hoopty-mobile" in the foreground.

The shooter remains at-large, with no suspects and no motives for the shooting.
-- Shooting number 2:
This happened last night around 2240 hrs in the 2400 block of Juliette Ave (hold the Romeo) on the city's SOUTHWEST side.
A man was shot in the chest and was found in the backyard of the residence.
Here's the story link:

I could have taken a LOT better picture.

http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/person-shot-on-juliette-avenue
He was transported to hospital by ambulance (hold the purple Impalas) and he was also downgraded to critical condition.
Family members of the victim were present when the shooting occurred.
Three shell casings were found on scene, and although a K-9 unit started a track, it was lost about a block away.
Again, no suspects, and no motive.
But, the police ARE asking anyone who saw something to contact them..as usual.
In BOTH cases, I believe the amount of rain we received had much to do with the K-9s loosing the track at these locations.

We also hear more concern being voiced about being able to do something (obviously to halt the violence).
The first story had the pastor from the church across the street on Lillie speaking to that point.
And, it's NOT like I haven't been voicing MY concerns for like...how many YEARS has it been now? That's right...CLOSE TO TEN!
This blog was created as a pulpit for things such as this.
The problem arises when whatever voices DO come forward in one form or another, go unheard, or, to be more precise, ignored outright.
Given such circumstances, a problem will only get...worse.
Like I've said many times, there's not one day that passes that there's not a report (or several) for shots being fired, which to ME, signifies that a WHOLE lotta WRONG people have procured a WHOLE lotta guns by illegal means and have no qualms about settling verbal disputes or committing crimes with them.
Fix THAT problem by enforcing the laws we ALREADY HAVE on the books, and a WHOLE lotta bad stuff will go away...
*** Lastly today...we, as a society have become way TOO "double-standardized" (from Bob's lexicon, page 178), what with suspending children for bringing a "bubble shooter"  to school or a pop-tart gnawed into the shape of a gun in a lunchroom by another child, while not being able to fully address all the BAD GUYS with REAL guns.

There simply has to be definitive REASONS why this goes on...and is getting worse
There just cannot be that many straw-purchasers (for firearms) out there, but there can always be enough THIEVES to steal guns from law-abiding citizens.
And let's face it, criminals are not stealing firearms simply to COLLECT them, as one would Hummels or comic books.
Naturally, the mentally unstable among us will always be an issue as well, as long as THEY have access to firearms.

Perhaps Confucius was right about ETHICS...maybe, instead of all these DOUBLE standards, we need some HIGHER standards.
I haven't found ANY evidence to date that suggests that holding oneself OR others to higher standards of behavior,. ethics, or morals was harmful to people, the environment, or our future.
Seems THAT would be a damn good place to start, wouldn't it?

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