Humpday Happenings...

Well, if you hadn't had a need to crank on your furnace before, you SURE have one TODAY!
Baby, it is BRISK outside!
...as in C-O-L-D!
Don'cha just love it when we never have the chance to "ease" into such weather?
Anyway, today will see a "high" of around 37 degrees...
(perfect for leaf blowing, Bob).
We'll have the sun back today as well with a mild breeze out of the SW.
I guess this puts the old kibosh on whatever plants we had trying tio survive in the various planters.
In any event, we can always hunker down, toss another log on the fire, unless you don't have a fireplace, to which I would advise AGAINST doing that, and take it easy.
Let's cuddle up with a hot cup of whatever you prefer this day and see what's been going on...
*** First out of the meat locker today is our Motto of the Week, aka WHO SAID THAT?
"A lot of people like snow. I find it an unnecessary freezing of water."
In lieu of the seasonal weather, I thought this most appropriate. So who said that anyway?
The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
Moving (quickly) on...
*** The next town over from Ft. Wayne (New Haven) has passed an ordinance ALLOWING (ready for this one?) GOLF CARTS on city streets.
Yeah, I suppose this could qualify as one of those "WTF???" moments.
Think about it...
Here's the story link to get you pondering:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131113/LOCAL/311139966/1002/LOCAL

Now, my take on such insanity is simple; golf carts on golf COURSES...like I said...simple.
But on the streets?
Maybe not so much.
Who in their right mind will be driving one in say weather like THIS?
(Eskimos, Bob?)
Golf carts are basically a WARM-weather vehicle.
Maybe that's why we never see duffers on the links in say JANUARY, right?
Not to mention that golf carts have never had the ability to navigate over "rough" terrain, such as a pothole-ridden city street (or the woodland areas).

Why YES, I AM an asshole.

That's why the ALL-TERRAIN QUAD-RUNNERS were devised, and they're NOT permitted on city streets...but we have one asshole that drives one around HERE a couple times a year (and the police still haven't ticketed him, even after I told them the address of the place and showed them pictures...go figure).
Still, in warm weather, a golf cart isn't that bad a way to get around, especially since you lost your driving license to all those DUIs, right?
That's another contention with me...all the drunks that can't drive a car getting around in a damn golf cart...or a moped.
No license required for those...and you can still be drunk (until you get caught again).
It poses a hazard...period.
What about getting stuck on...railroad tracks?
Golf carts were not made to cross those with ease (if at all).
And maybe that's WHY we never see golf COURSES with railroad crosses running through them, too.
Naturally, regulations would be instituted to better allow such vehicles on "certain" (?) city streets...how will THAT be enforced, if someone wants to ride on a street that doesn't allow the carts?

You just KNOW this is coming with the ghetto crowd!

There are more holes in this than can be found at a Swiss cheese manufacturing plant.
I think the New Haven ordinance is several accidents just WAITING to happen...and we will see, won't we?
*** This next story is one of those that just makes me want to cry out "NOOOOOO" like Luke Skywalker did when Darth Vader told him he was his father.
Here's the lowdown:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131113/LOCAL/311139965/1002

We're going to the SE side...!

Imagine that...a "senior villas" affordable living complex on the city's crime-infested and drug-laced (...all together, gang...) SOUTHEAST SIDE.
Yeah...somehow, that sends up a crapload of RED flags to me.
Considering that other such venues include Brooklyn Pointe (near Nuttman and Brooklyn Aves) and Whispering Oaks (near Tillman and Decatur), it begs the question: 
"Why the hell would you place ANY SENIORS right in the midst of all these other crime-filled apartment complexes in that same area?"

Someone at the FWHA must be suffering some severe form of mental deficiency.
Brendonwood Park, Twin Oaks, Southbridge...all of these, along with all the rental hovels nearby sure don't seem to be the BEST place for oldsters of ANY socio-economic status to live out their senior years.
Then there is a story that takes me back to Philly...SOUTH Philly to be exact.
The housing authority THERE built 3 high-rise towers to house low-income "seniors"...down near 3rd St at Washington Ave.
And it looked good...at first.
Then for some odd reason, younger "people" moved in, chased out the seniors, and turned this nice venue into another urban PROJECT, replete with all the crime that comes with it.
Thankfully, they were torn down a couple decades ago, but that just sent all the low-lifes into the streets to get more free or reduced housing in other neighborhoods...that these people promptly destroyed.

It will begin with THESE.

I can see a similar pattern HERE with this new "senior-living" arrangement.
Think on this...many of the low-income crowd have grandparents watching their children these days...statistics bear that much out.
Also, in many of these cases, the baby-mama moves IN with grandma or grandpa...and then the BOTM (boyfriend of the month) tags along with HIS posse...and so the cycle begins anew...just in another place.
Hell, these people already do it with stand alone HOUSES...I see this evident on my OWN street.
"Cribbing with old people be fun" should be the tagline to sell such housing.
I suppose that's WHY we see all these multiple addresses from all the perps in our local judicial system. Grandma's house (or apartment) makes a great place to "hide out" from the po-po.
This new complex wouldn't be a bad thing...IF the city had placed it say...in the NW part of town, and that begs another question:
WHY wasn't such a plan pursued...and if so, why was it not allowed anywhere BUT in the SE side?

Sure hope we're not robbed in our rooms.

Could it be that THEY foresaw the impending crime that "could" come along with low-income, multi-generational,  single-parent families, like I previously mentioned? I suppose we'll have to start watching BOTH hands of the local politicians now, right?
I'm not saying that crime WILL infest this newest complex "FOR SENIORS"...but I will be watching to see IF the complex takes in ONLY those of the older persuasion, and disallows any and all "youngsters" and the drama they can bring to this place.
Like I say...Ft. Wayne loves to keep all the "problems" confined to ONE part of town so they can keep an eye on it....rather than DEAL with it and reclaim this quadrant of the city.
*** The police and prosecutor have hit a "speedbump"...imagine that.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131113/LOCAL07/311139978

Karen (I need an airtight case or they walk) Richards and the FWPD have an area of contention regarding the LIAISON OFFICER assigned to the prosecutor's office.
The officer has been reassigned to the detective division per Chief Rusty (people don't kill people, guns kill people) York.
Now, Richards has to depend on HER office alone for all the go'fer jobs...(aww, poor baby).
York reassigned the officer due to (hope you're all sitting down)...STAFFING issues (as in not ENOUGH boots on the ground, right, Rus?)...now, who'da thunk THAT?
Hell, we've been WELL BELOW the number of NEEDED officers for the streets for YEARS...and the city didn't seem to give a rip.
Well, with 41 homicides (and counting), it would appear that such decisions DO come with consequences, don't they, Mr Mayor?
Now, we have shifts that are barely meeting the REQUIRED number of officers per sector and quadrant.
Makes you wonder why we see such a spike in crime (all across the board, and NOT just in homicides) HERE, while crime is actually decreasing around the nation, doesn't it?
Something just doesn't add the hell up, and the public should be making a bigger stink about it than it has.
(maybe tomorrow, right?)
*** Lastly today, problems with government don't always have to be found at the NATIONAL level...
They can most easily be found right in your own downtown City Hall.

I would have to conclude that the MAIN job for ANY city (and it's elected and appointed officials) is...PUBLIC SAFETY.
Without THAT, you don't have much to build upon to properly allow a city to prosper.
And public safety is one of those all-encompassing aspects...it not only includes POLICE and FIRE, but also INFRASTRUCTURE, and to fuel ALL of these, you need a viable and thriving TAX BASE.
Can't have that with all the erosion that can take place with the taxpaying public, can you?

The lack of jobs, the welfare state (the lazy asses who game the system), federal regulations stifling job creation all ADD to that erosion.
And you can't keep increasing taxes on whoever can still pay taxes...those people will up and LEAVE for greener pastures.
When that happens, budgets get tight, and services suffer...and crime has a new place to play.
It's one of those circles of life things, and it never paints a nice picture...just ask Detroit.
Toss in some corruption, and you've nailed that coffin shut.
What is needed HERE is constant vigilance...around our communities as well as watching City Hall, to make sure that everyone in the city limits is not only offered the same quality-of-life, but actually gets to ENJOY it...we don't need bells, whistles, or lip-service.
Can't pay the bills and prosper with any of that crap...can we?

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