Thoughts on Thursday...

We're rolling to the Labor Day weekend, and it might have some rain attached to it...just so you know.
Last night was more in keeping with good sleeping, too, but we will be returning to around 80 degrees by later today.
Such is our Hoosierland weather.
And again, it's slated to be a MOSTLY to PARTLY cloudy day...so does that mean partly to mostly SUNNY?
I think it's a way of keeping us guessing.
At least the humidity will be a lot less, and that means the air won't be as thick as pea soup to breathe.
So, let's all put our best foot forward today, grab ourselves a cup of our favorite morning beverage and see what else has been going on.
*** First out of the storage shed today is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them."
This was spoken by one John C. Maxwell (born 1947) who is an American author, speaker and pastor.
Here is his WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Maxwell

Believe it or else, Wifey knew who he is, when I told her his name.
His books have sold over NINETEEN MILLION copies.
There's not much on him, but what is there on the WIKI is worth a few minutes of your time.
His books include FIVE LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP (2011) , THINKING FOR A CHANGE (2003), and BE ALL YOU CAN BE (1987)
Moving on...
*** We now take you to our daily homage to this month with "What the hell happened today, Bob?"
AUGUST 28:

1609 – Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay.

1830 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's new Tom Thumb steam locomotive races a horse-drawn car, presaging steam's role in US railroading.
1845 – The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published.

1862 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of Second Manassas.
1867 – The United States takes possession of the (at this point unoccupied) Midway Atoll.
1916 – World War I: Germany declares war on Romania.
1916 – World War I: Italy declares war on Germany.
1953 – Nippon Television broadcasts Japan's first television show, including its first TV advertisement.

He ain't no Jimmy Stewart.

1957 – U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond begins a filibuster to prevent the Senate from voting on Civil Rights Act of 1957; he stopped speaking 24 hours and 18 minutes later, the longest filibuster ever conducted by a single Senator.

Looting...even back then.

1964 – The Philadelphia race riot begins.

Almost looks like Ferguson, MO.

1968 – Riots in Chicago, Illinois, during the Democratic National Convention.
1990 – Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province.
1991 – Collapse of the Soviet Union – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.

1996 – Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales divorce.
NOTABLE BIRTHDAYS:

A very quotable guy, too.

1749 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German author, poet, playwright, and diplomat (d. 1832)
1899 – Charles Boyer, French-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1978)

Kirby, as drawn by...Kirby

1917 – Jack Kirby, American author and illustrator (d. 1994)
1925 – Donald O'Connor, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 2003)

Looking older, "Hutch".

1943 – David Soul, American actor and singer
1959 – Brian Thompson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Mmmm...mmm

1960 – Emma Samms, English actress

Major Sam Carter on SG-1

1965 – Amanda Tapping, Canadian actress, director, and producer

Man, she feels like a woman!

1965 – Shania Twain, Canadian singer-songwriter

That dress have a front zipper?

1982 – LeAnn Rimes, American singer-songwriter and actress
And, it also happens to be my Father's birthday, and were he alive, he'd be 93 years old, but that was not to happen.

Still, gonna have me a beer later today in his honor... miss 'ya, Dad.
And now you know more than everyone else in your family.
Meanwhile, back at the scales of justice...
*** More proof of black violence...as if you needed it
Here's the story link:
http://wane.com/2014/08/27/three-teens-arrested-for-rape-and-burglary/
One of the teens arrested for this rape and burglary WILL be waived into ADULT court
This 17-year old, Nytarian Callahan (who the hell names a kid Nytarian anyway?) is facing TWELVE (count 'em 12) counts of rape, one of burglary, one count of conspiracy to commit rape, and one count of robbery.

Talk about tossing a young life down the crapper..wtg, "Einstein".
Can't blame whitey or poverty on this one...place the blame where it belongs...the collapse of the black family unit and the lack of accountability with people and media (movies, video games, music, etc)..
Although this took place down in Marion, it could well happen here in Fort Wayne (and probably has more than a few times).
And sometimes, true justice DOES prevail.
*** Next...there was this story about Michael Brown and how there is a lawsuit pending to release the JUVENILE records,since he is deceased.
Here's the story link:
http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/27/lawsuit-to-release-michael-browns-juvenile-criminal-record/20953546/
Now, there ARE two sides to every story, and the person filing the lawsuit states that two law-enforcement contacts said that Brown did indeed have a criminal record as a juvenile.

That would dispel this "gentle giant" persona painted by family and friends (who often cover for their own). We've seen the same thing here in Fort Wayne...all the "he's a good boy, life of parties"...etc rhetoric, when the person killed was a felon with a record going back to damn near pre-teen days. It's part of THEIR culture...not ours.
*** Next up, just to show you how effectively our new Public Safety director AND our FWPD chief have been handling things, here's a list of all the SHOTS FIRED calls from 18 Aug - 26 Aug:

AUGUST 18
14F108758 00:17:47 113 SHOTS FIRED 300 WOODLAND AVE W
14F108925 13:28:37 113 SHOTS FIRED 4800 WEISSER PARK AVE
14F109119 21:22:18 113 SHOTS FIRED 4200 LILLIE ST & MCKINNIE AVE
14F109123 21:31:01 113 SHOTS FIRED 300 BUTLER ST E
AUGUST 19
14F109519 19:01:52 113 SHOTS FIRED 7700 HANNA ST S & PETAL WAY
AUGUST 20
14F109664 02:04:09 113 SHOTS FIRED 100 BRACKENRIDGE ST W & HARRISON S
14F109665 02:05:01 113 SHOTS FIRED 300 WOODLAND AVE W
14F109812 12:03:13 113 SHOTS FIRED 3000 BARR ST S
14F110050 21:28:43 113 SHOTS FIRED 700 WOODVIEW BLVD
AUGUST 21
14F110141 01:49:07 113 SHOTS FIRED 6500 CANAL POINT LN E
AUGUST 22
14F110576 00:55:29 113 SHOTS FIRED 4600 CALHOUN ST S
14F111054 22:27:35 113 SHOTS FIRED 2200 MAUMEE AVE
AUGUST 23
((NONE))
AUGUST 24
14F111704 00:57:03 113 SHOTS FIRED 600 CONGRESS AVE & HANNA ST S
14F111724 01:31:38 113 SHOTS FIRED 200 CREIGHTON AVE E
14F111730 01:45:49 113 SHOTS FIRED 1700 MERIDIAN ST & PUTNAM ST
14F111769 03:24:03 113 SHOTS FIRED 3800 AVONDALE DR
14F111776 03:57:32 113 SHOTS FIRED 3000 BARR ST S
AUGUST 25
14F112194 02:44:38 113 SHOTS FIRED 1100 WELLS ST
14F112264 09:21:59 113 SHOTS FIRED 3800 REED ST
14F112541 20:51:26 113 SHOTS FIRED 4900 WINTER ST & ELMROW DR
AUGUST 26
14F113001 19:50:13 113 SHOTS FIRED 1300 GREENE ST
14F113033 21:22:05 113 SHOTS FIRED 2900 WEBSTER ST
14F113039 21:37:18 113 SHOTS FIRED 800 WILDWOOD AVE W
14F113080 23:28:15 113 SHOTS FIRED 5800 TURTLE CREEK DR & PAULDING RD
14F113083 23:31:23 113 SHOTS FIRED 3400 CHEVIOT DR
14F113086 23:38:44 113 SHOTS FIRED 00 COUNTRY FOREST DR
So, there 'ya go...proof POSITIVE that SO much is being done to stop this behavior, mostly in the predominantly BLACK areas of the city (he said sarcastically).
And, if you notice, most of the calls occur on the (...you guessed it...) SOUTHEAST SIDE of town.
(but there is more on the SW and upper east side now)
*** Last back to the whipping post today...where are we going as a society, and why should be even care?
Now THERE is a really loaded question, hmm?
Well, the future of our society depends on what we've learned from our PAST, as well as how we are conducting ourselves in the PRESENT, right?

Seems the best barometer of any future.
Yet, so many are content with the way things are, which, if you look about you, is full of disarray, and in some extreme cases...chaos.
I have the feeling that life wasn't really MEANT to be that way.
Granted, life is not any sort of Utopia where nothing goes wrong, and everyone has everything they ever wanted...that's NEVER going to happen.

Life is full of twists, turns, up, downs, and even sideways events, and I believe they are all meant to allow us the opportunity to challenge ourselves, so that we may become better individuals through the process of learning from times of adversity.
We can either choose to become part of THIS process...or we can choose to sit back and let everything unfold without intervention.

Either way, it once again comes down to a CHOICE...(doesn't it always?) on our part.
This nation has been good to us, compared with our countries around the world, and I think it's only fitting that we find a way to return the "favor", as it were.
Each day we have should be a part of that line of thinking...that we can do more, that we are better, and that we should never have to settle for less when we can accomplish greater things for this nation, but more specifically, for ourselves.

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