Closer To Week's End...

And it's a far cry from yesterday morning here in the Heartland...don't think I'll have to worry about any "power-farts" crashing the computer.
(here's hoping anyway)
Nice and sunny outside with a high today in the lower 70s, a slight breeze and no rain forecasted for at least 12 hours.
No need for the A/C today, so enjoy the day.
In the meantime, we've a few things of note to bounce about, so fill that morning cup back up and let's have at it...
*** First out of the chute today is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"We become wiser by adversity; prosperity destroys our appreciation of the right."

This was spoken by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, or Seneca the Younger (4 B.C. - 65 A.D.) who was a Roman stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and a humorist (didn't know there as anything to laugh at in ancient Rome)
And here is his WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Younger
Now, with anyone associated with Rome and it's emperors, there was plenty of intrigue to write volumes, which apparently were written.
Seneca was actually touted by the early christian church for his writings and in medieval times, was believed to have been converted by Saint Paul. Dante actually placed Seneca in the FIRST circle of hell...or "limbo" 
Guess that's better than our part of the ghettohood (the 7th circle)...LOL.
Seneca remains one of the more popular Roman philosophers from the period.
Writers such as Montaigne, Emerson, Chaucer, and even John Calvin refer to Seneca's words in their own works.
His belief in Stoic Philosophy looks on a resigned aspect to human nature, and if one didn;t know better, there are underpinnings of what one might take for christian beliefs.
The WIKI is a good read and shows how well his life and works were 9and still are) received.

Yeah, but SOME of us are working on that.

If you take nothing else away from reading about Seneca...remember that it was HE that stated ERRARE HUMANUM EST.
(to err is human)
Moving on...
*** Oh, boy...ANOTHER shooting on Fort Wayne's...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST SIDE!

But since this happened at the Eden Green Apartments, it's probably no BIG deal (because this kind of sh*t is EXPECTED there), right?
Here's the lowdown so far (w/ video):
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140522/LOCAL07/140529801
This happened just after midnight in bldg 7B of the Eden Green Apts.
A man was taken to hospital in critical condition, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
FWPD detained one man seen running from the area, and his vehicle was found near bldg 3, so forensics is giving that the once-over for possible evidence in connection with the shooting.
At this time, there is NO motive, NO arrests, NO weapon found, and NO additional suspect information was forthcoming.

Lock the squad car - don't want it STOLEN, Harry.

Wow...a whole buncha NOs and not a single YES to be found...amazing.
So, how is all this PREVENTING crimes like this? I'm just NOT seeing it.
Maybe we should make 75% of the officers "detectives" so cases can be SOLVED faster, because all I am seeing is people with shields showing up AFTER crimes are already committed, and to me, that's NOT policing, but more like INVESTIGATING, right?
Just a thought...
*** And while we're on the subject of crime, there's THIS little gem of a story:
http://wane.com/2014/05/21/61-year-old-charged-with-dealing-drugs/

"Knock-knock...guess who?"

Nice to know that one of my "contemporaries" has found one definitive way to get his 61-year old ass tossed in the slam.
Nice Hispanic guy, one Charley Gonzalez, Jr. dealing cocaine and marijuana (bet he supplies some of my "neighbors", too). Que pasa?

eres experto en meterte en líos!

Never occurred to him that when you SELL drugs, maybe a few of your "customers" might just be the PO-PO?
A warrant was served at Charley's home located at 6317 East Hills Rd (46804 just off of W. Jefferson Blvd, so it's NOT in the SE for a change), after vice.narcotics got a tip from a citizen that drugs were being sold there. Police had bought cocaine from the location (and Charley) a few times before raiding the place w/ the warrant, where they also found 4.8 lbs of MJ,
And then Charley got a new shiny "bracelet", and a nice comfy (under the circumstances) ride "downtown".where I'm sure he'll get a free ORANGE jumpsuit and flip-flops JUST in time for summer!
Hey Charley...was it all REALLY worth it?
Oh, and if you check his rap-sheet, he's NO stranger to the judicial system...going all the way back to 1987, he's had LOADS of traffic violations (should have a lifetime suspension with all of those), He's also got a prior for possession of pot and a couple public intox arrests.
Don't we call such people HABITUAL OFFENDERS...for a reason?
(thought we DID)
*** Now THIS story...looks like a job...for...Captain Obvious, right?

Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140522/BIZ/305229924/1031/BIZ
Imagine that...the DEMISE OF COAL PLANTS will (necessarily) cause higher ELECTRIC BILLS...whatta frigging revelation!

We gone bye-bye? Why?

No, make that an EPIPHANY!
Isn't that what our current Obamunist in chief WANTS?
He said as much years ago. And he really, really MEANS it.

"Energy prices will necessarily skyrocket." - BHO

Coal is still CHEAPER than wind OR solar, and it's PLENTIFUL, and it's CLEANER than in decades past, but all these dumbass regulations and laws are killing a MAJOR industry in this country.
At this rate, by 2020, Indiana customers can expect a double-digit HIKE in costs, thanks to agencies that cannot see past their OWN billfolds.
Now, tell me, what OTHER nations are following suit with US here???
I'm not seeing or hearing anyone else "caring" as much for the environment...if anything, they're making MORE pollutants, because they CAN, and they haven't the technology WE do to make OUR emissions better.
As a result, WE (the people) are forced to buy certain bulbs, cars, houses, suffer high food prices, and are subservient to the whims of bureaucrats like the EPA. We can't even have livestock FART, but we can put up wind-farms that destroy avian species on a regular basis.

Gonna be LOTS of people out of work, too.

Yeah, somehow, none of that makes any sense to me..
Doesn't seem like freedom of choice, or freedom of ANY sort, does it?
*** Last back to the boat slip today...do you really recognize America today...I mean REALLY?
Has the face of our nation changed significantly ENOUGH, so that what you once knew has been turned on it's ear?

I'm kinda fond of the OLD America...really.

Well, you're not alone there.
Every nation has the opportunity to move forward...to progress, but what we're seeing today isn't quite moving us in a direction we SHOULD be moving.
Rather, we're being corralled into a "one size fits all" globalization, and I am opposed to that.

As with clothes, so it applies to our nation.

Our country has been a LEADER in so many ways since I was born, but we've lost a lot of wind in those sails in recent history.
Now, in the military, it's damn hard to "lead from behind"...ask any person in command.
And, it's becoming hard to "lead by example", for we're NOT setting the BEST example to follow, are we?
Like I say...this nation CAN do better (as in times past), and we SHOULD, if for no other reason than the fact that WE CAN...and HAVE before.
It's in our nature to be at the forefront of this global arena, and we've proven it time and again since our nation was founded.
Maybe this weekend, we can recapture some of what we USED to have...what made us who we are, and who we should be.
Just a little something to ponder, that's all.

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