Friday Follies...

And here we are...end of the week...AND the end of the month (well, tomorrow really, but what the hell?).
After a very mild night in the Hoosierland, we've another day of temps in the low 80s, plenty of sunshine, and a slight breeze in the air.
(nice day to be somewhere else...sorry, did I say that out loud?)
In any event, we've plenty of things that have been bugging me over the last 24 hours, but fortunately NONE of them have to deal with floods or basements, or sewer work...and that (to me) is amazing.
So without any further ado, let's send this month of May off in fine fashion.
Get that cup of your favorite morning beverage refilled and let's get this show on the road...
*** First out of the hangar today are the recent allegations against the commander of our own 122nd ANG base.

A SNAFU? Here? Say it ain't so.

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140530/LOCAL/305309953
Seems a worker there anonymously came forward and produced a little laundry list of spending on the taxpayers' dime, and a lot of these were pretty severe in nature.

Wha'cha been doin', Col. Dave?

Among the allegations against Col. David Augustine were $30K for personal office renovation, $100K for "speech classes" for ANG members (don't we already speak ENGLISH?), more than $50K for a neon sign for the base (really? NEON?), and $50K for two holiday parties.
(top shelf liquor, no doubt)
Also mentioned were the use of A-10s for a "personal taxi" (and at $8K PER HOUR to fly, that's one helluva costly ride), plus the fact that he has a physical condition that prevents him from flying, and yet, a commander of such a base MUST be flight-capable.

But Yellow Cab doesn't have a GAU-8!

If even a portion of this can be proven, the base WILL be looking for a new C.O.
In the interim, I (personally) feel it would be in everyone's best interest if the 2nd in command take charge of the facility until this is resolved.
(hope this doesn't FUBAR our chance to have that air show next year)
Moving on...
*** A SE side moped crash yields some interesting finds.
Here's this story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140530/LOCAL07/305309971/1043/LOCAL07
This happened just a spit and a slide from our "Fortress" yesterday afternoon around 1455 hrs  in the 4900 block of Avondale Drive (right near Hard Hitters - that drug haven - whatta coincidence).

Damn, they need a DONUT SHOP around here, Sarge!

A 22-year old on the moped lost control and dumped the ride, suffering critical injuries.
He was not wearing a helmet (none of them around here ever do).
No other vehicles were involved in this crash, and there were no witnesses to the crash (that can be found or will come forward).
I will say that block is covered in lousy asphalt...lots of ruts, a pothole or three, uneven road surfaces and berms...and that's when riding in a damn CAR.
Just another aspect of city IGNORANCE in keeping up (?) OUR part of town.

They haven't found anything yet.

BTW, the moped was reported as STOLEN back in November 2013...just so you know.
(typical)
*** Fort Wayne's FIRST homicide has yet to have anyone charged?
Here's the story link:
http://wane.com/2014/05/29/charges-have-yet-to-be-filed-in-first-2014-homicide-case/

Damian Miller, II was shot dead in the parking lot at the Dupont Bar and Grill, (19 January) and although the (armed) bouncer there was the prime suspect, NO arrest has been made and NO charges have been filed to date...what the hell is wrong with this picture, aside from the ineptitude issuing from the prosecutor's office?
(oh, THAT must be the smell)
Curiously enough, calls to the prosecutor's office by WANE were not returned...
Someone trying to cover something up?
Was there an off-duty FWPD officer involved?

Is someone sweeping something under another rug downtown?

Still clueless, after all these years.

Anything from our illustrious Director of Public Safety, Russell York?
Too many questions and not many answers...
*** A FEDERAL school meal program gets the go ahead...
(don't they always?)
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140530/LOCAL04/305309951

Now, I don't begrudge ANYONE for having a school lunch program, and perhaps in a few extreme cases, a FREE meal is warranted, but come the hell ON now...MORE free meals to MORE students at the taxpayers' expense?
(** Mc'Ds is having FREE iced coffee - McCafe - this weekend...just sayin')
What the f$ck ever happened to BROWN-BAGGING it?

Yeah, they still make this stuff!

We STILL have all kinds of food at HOME, right?
We STILL make brown bags in America, right?
We STILL have kids with arms that can CARRY them, right?
What the hell is the problem here, aside from levels of chronic laziness which we have never seen before?
When I went to school we HAD a cafeteria in our high school, and we PAID for what we wanted...OR we brought a brown bag lunch and made due with that. NOTHING was "free", unless you rolled some other kid for HIS lunch money.

Seems we're blurring the lines HERE.

I know I'm getting DAMN sick of hearing about what we're supposed to think is "poverty", when there are all the amenities in these so-called "poor" houses that are the exact same items that working people have to save to purchase with their OWN money, and not someone else's..
The number of REALLY poor people in this country is WAY lower than the Feds say, but by NOW, we should be getting used to being lied to, right?
(hundred buck athletic shoes AND on the SNAP and free lunch program...cripes almighty!)

I DO like that "free shipping", though.

You simply cannot keep "giving away the farm" and still believe that nothing changes AT that damn farm, as a result of such liberalities.
That dog just won't hunt.
People who take the time and effort to PRODUCE a child need to be held responsible for CARING for that child, and THAT means feeding them adequately both AT HOME and providing them food to eat at SCHOOL for lunch...or the monetary equivalent to purchase the food.
When what is passing for parents cannot even be bothered with a bowl of cereal at breakfast, and instead defers to letting OTHERS feed their kids, something is VERY wrong here.
*** :Last back to the motor pool today, there were a few other stories I wanted to pitch here, but we've got all NEXT week to take shots at those (and score loads of TEN-RING hits), so all I will add is that ALL these stores speak to a drastic CHANGE in our American CULTURE...

The times they are a'changing?

(you knew I was going there, right?).
There is the plain and simple LACK of responsibility...this (relative) ease of letting others do what people used to do in generations past...THEMSELVES.
And when those people did for themselves, there came with it, this sense of PRIDE in doing so...the accomplishment of being willing AND able TO DO what was not only expected, but required, in order to function as an adult, a family, or just a civilized human being.

We're getting a tad off THAT beaten track these days, and we can thank the government for taking our hands (like a doting "parent") and guiding us through our banal lives, rather than stepping back, and letting us live our own lives.

That might work well for toddlers, who act more on instinct than experience, but too many of these people are ADULTS, and should start ACTING as such.
Sooner or later, you have to "cut the apron strings", as it were.

If this current crop of people we have today were subjected to the strains and demands of what took place from 1940-1945, we might well have lost World War 2.

We need THIS back...NOW.

Such a cavalier attitude about life and all it entails serves no purpose, as each day is a gift to us all.
The ability to DO for ourselves, THINK for ourselves, and SPEAK for ourselves is what made this country, and kept her strong for SO many decades.
Take such ability AWAY, and we become no better than subjects under the thumb of another authoritarian government, or worse yet, a tyrannical despot.
We deserve better than that, and we need to pursue such betterment every day, expecting it not only in ourselves, but in those with whom we entrust the power of this nation.
Have yourselves a great weekend.

Be well, make a difference to someone today, and as always...
Stay SAFE out there, America.
(I'll see y'all next month)