Friday Follies...

We made it safely to another weekend, and WHAT a weekend this is, beginning with THIS day...50 years ago.
But we'll discuss that shortly. Right now, let's take a look at our Hoosierland weather.
Today is starting out the way last night ended...cloudy, with some rain, a touch of fog in low-lying areas, and temps in the mid to upper 40s.
From there, it all goes downhill, and not in a fun-living tobogganing manner. Temps will DROP throughout the day and we have a chance of SNOW showers later on into this evening. Lows will be a lot more "seasonal", dropping in the freezing range.
Yikes...well, it IS November, right?
Meanwhile, let's take it slow today, fill up that warm morning beverage of choice, and let's this ball rolling.
*** First off the tarmac today is the continuation of that WANE series  IS FORT WAYNE A DANGEROUS PLACE?

Adam Widener had the segment on the 6PM news last night and follows up TONIGHT at the same time.
Here's the  story (with video):
http://www.wane.com/news/investigative/15-finds-out-homicide-rate-high-among-similar-cities
There are stats from cities both larger than us and smaller than us...with "similar demographics", and what we see about OUR city is disturbing.
Nice to know we're on PAR with BUFFALO, NY, but we're not as bad as NEWARK, NJ, and we're a helluva lot WORSE than PLANO, TX.
The FWPD "capo", Rusty York states that it's been a "strange situation...a strange mix" regarding this year's homicide rates.
Really, Rus? Ya think?
The only thing "strange" about this is the number of MINORITY homicides, as in GANG or DRUG-related shootings.
Add to that the vast majority of random GUNFIRE from mostly MINORITY neighborhoods.
We ain't out in the boonies, and they ain't deer hunters, Rusty.
Those "demographics" with other cities are similar...large pockets of minorities...most of them government-sponsored, unemployed (because working is too "white" for them), relatively uneducated (schooling is too white as well for some of them), with access to black market firearms (through thefts and robberies mostly) and a crapload of time to do nothing BUT cause crime in these cities...and we're no different.
THAT is fact...not fiction, people.
The News Sentinel goes one better - it shows WHERE the homicides have occurred, year-by-year and the link can be found HERE:
http://nscontent.news-sentinel.com/?q=page/2013-allen-county-homicide-map

THIS is fantastic if you're "keeping score".
I've seen this pattern before...in Philly...decades ago, and it has not gotten any better THERE.
The WANE story also goes to state what I've said for a LONG time - the FWPD is woefully UNDERSTAFFED...but a new recruit class is in the works.
Thing is...they WON'T be hitting the streets until this time NEXT year.
You think we can have the crims HOLD OFF until then?
That's discounting those officers ripe for RETIREMENT, but's another story.
What I find just as interesting are the comments that FOLLOW this story.
Lots of people out there KNOW what's going on, and one person stated it was an INNER CITY issue, and NOT a Pine Valley problem. And he's CORRECT.
Now, WHO lives in that "inner city" anyway?
MINORITIES and other incorrigibles...THAT'S who.
Sadly, the disease is spreading outward, and has all but encompassed OUR area over the last decade, with no sign of changing back into a nice neighborhood. The SW and NE are now ripe for the pickings, as it were.
The people infesting our area (and the inner city) have become dead when it comes to such basic values as morality, civility, ethics, respect, self-reliance, responsibility, and accountability. All they REALLY care about is free sh*t, and it doesn't matter much WHERE (or who) it comes from.
That is NO way to go through life, as the brevity of it often touches those involved in such illicit activities clearly demonstrates.
I will be watching the followup segment tonight, as I hope YOU will also.
We NEED to remain vigilant and steadfast in holding onto our neighborhoods.
Moving on...
*** Yes, today marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of our 35th president, JFK.

All this week, I've tried to bring aspects of this event with (I hope) some clarity, and perhaps some questions that maybe you were thinking about yourselves. There is just SO much out there to take in, and yet, there is SO much that has yet to be revealed.
Today, I want to focus on the WEAPON that Lee Harvey Oswald was alleged to have used in this killing.

Three different rifles were shown to the public.

It was a 1938 war surplus Mannlicher-Carcano carbine - a bolt action, 5-shot rifle that fired a 6.5mm round.
The "scope" was also surplus, but it was of Japanese origin, not very good (Germans make the BEST optics) and was often prone to inaccuracies.
It was purchased by Oswald (under an assumed name) for a mere $12.50  through a Chicago mail order house (Klein's).
That alone should tell you much about the "quality" of such a weapon.
Now, it's also told that Oswald was a "marksman".
He was not a sharpshooter OR a sniper. He had NO qualification in EITHER discipline.
A USMC marksman just means he qualified with a high percentage of rounds on target at a SPECIFIED time. And with ANY rating you receive on a firing range (in any specified venue) you have to RE-QUALIFY periodically to MAINTAIN that rating.
Oswald did not, according to military records.

Now, there was a recreation of the shooting done by CBS awhile back, proving that the shots COULD be performed...after FIVE attempts.
Oswald had ONE opportunity...not five. The CBS demo had a sharpshooter attempting the shots as well..not "just a marksman".
Was the SCOPE on the rifle the EXACT same type? and was it "trued-in" perfectly?
You see, the ODDS of Oswald getting EVERYTHING right so as to make those (three?) shots count become problematic (at best) under ideal conditions with only ONE attempt allowed.
And Oswald was not a person one could call a "perfectionist"...was he?
The Dallas police found THREE shell casings in the book depository, so they "assumed" Oswald fired THREE shots, but one casing was dented, which COULD signify that THIS was a "dead" round used to block the breech and keep out dust and moisture, as this rifle was a "handful" to properly operate on a GOOD day. The bolt action was not something any good shooter would call "smooth" in nature. You had to WORK it hard.
Well, it WAS war SURPLUS, was it not? They never sold pristine firearms at such LOW prices...and they still never do.
You GET...what you PAY for. Plain and simple.
If there is any cause for contention about Oswald making all the shots he was alleged to have made, I find it hard to believe it went SO perfectly, given the person, the weapon and the circumstances.

He was not a cool and calculating SNIPER...who can wait for HOURS  to make the "one shot - one kill" that say a Vasily Zaytsev , or even a Carlos Hathcock could do without batting an eye or breaking a sweat.
To me, the ballistic evidence simply does not add up the way we are led to believe. There is more to all of this.
John Kennedy represented a lot more hope for this nation during the Cold War. Conversely, he had a ton of "baggage" that the FBI had on him, mostly affairs with other women. And yet Jackie Kennedy stood by him, trying to help his image the best she could, and after his death, she continued to do so.

JFK might have been on meds to alleviate his back pain too often, which could have presented a problem in making such decisions, and he might have played around with women too much, and been hanging out with some of the "wrong" people (alleged mafia bosses), but he STILL presented to US, the people of America a sense of a better tomorrow,and when he was killed, this nation lost some of that.
In many ways, all of us that lived through this tragic event, as well as our nation, never TRULY recovered.

We just sucked it up and carried on.
Would it be that the legacy could have...and should have been so much more.
*** Lastly today, and a bit on the lighter side...we seem to be awash in a lot of 50th anniversaries this year.
It's as though the year 1963 was a nexus of events,
Well, it marks the 50th anniversary of the death of JFK...AND it marks the 50th anniversary of JAMES BOND, (featured earlier this year HERE) but it also marks the 50th anniversary of another UK product.

And that is DOCTOR WHO.
Yes, this BBC show premiered the day AFTER JFK was killed...not the best way to start a new program, was it?
Tonight, BBC America is airing a program that dramatizes HOW this show came into being.
And all this week, they've been showing past episodes of the show.
There is even a story in today's local paper about it, and here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131122/ENT03/311229932/0/SEARCH
I've been a fan (we call ourselves "Whovians") since the show came across the pond on PBS (of all stations) back in the mid 1970s.
BTW, here's the WIKI on the show:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who
The UK has unveiled commemorative postage stamps featuring 3 of the doctors and they go on sale today.
Been to a few conventions over the years, got me a few pictures taken with the stars (most notably, a blurry picture with Tom Baker - the 4th doctor - the girl I was with was excited I guess) Philly did a good job with the events.
But the SHOW was  the real attraction. Originally set up as a "childrens' show", it fast became standard fare for ADULTS as well. Imagine a person who has lived for over 900 years, can regenerate when he "dies", and has the ability to traverse TIME AND SPACE...the possibilities are endless.
And the stores were nothing short of fantastic, even if the early sets were a bit on the "cost-effective" side.
There were signature aspects to the show, such as the TARDIS, which is really an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension In Space.
Basically, this means it's IS larger on the INSIDE than on the outside. It's a physics thing.
The Tardis also has the ability to change it's appearance to fit it's surroundings, so as not to attract any undue attention...
Except for the doctor's, that is. The "Chameleon Circuit" became stuck in the shape of a 1960s era blue police call box (used to alert police and hold prisoners on the streets until the paddy wagon arrived).
The doctor also has a "sonic screwdriver", which can open most any lock, undo nuts and bolts, and perform many other functions.

I suppose the one thing about the doctor that I've always found fascinating, is that he never carries a "weapon", per se.
He relies more upon his WITS and intelligence to solve whatever problem faces the cosmos...and his quirky humor.
I've found that people either love the show...or never got into it...very little "middle ground" to speak of.
This Saturday, marks the 50th year that the doctor has been saving the universe, and the BBC is marking the event with a SPECIAL (The Day of the Doctor)...featuring the past two doctors - Matt Smith (#11) and David Tennant (#10).

The NEW doctor (Peter Capaldi - featured in a prior post) will debut this December during the Christmas special.
Every year, Doctor Who has a CHRISTMAS show, and it's one of the only TV shows that has such a yearly special.
And there you have that in a nutshell.
So...you folks KNOW where I'll be this weekend...only wish I had some "Jelly Babies"...LOL.
Do have yourselves a great weekend.

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