Torpor-less Tuesday...

If you've been following the news for the last 24 hours, you know the title of this post to be VERY true.
More about that (and other things) in a moment.
Our Hoosierland weather has us with vastly lower temps than we enjoyed over the last few days, with highs topping out today around the freezing mark.
Looks to be a mostly cloudy day as well, but on the "up" side, those nasty WINDS we had yesterday have abated.
I know...not THAT much of an "up", was it?
You take what 'ya can get these days, right?
Now go have yourselves a nice hot cup of your beverage of choice (hazelnut coffee for me, thanks), and let's get this show on the road.
*** First up is our "What the hell happens today, Bob? feature:
November 25 - 
Today is the REAL PARFAIT DAY...sorry, I placed this back on the 23rd.

Eat 'em if 'ya got 'em!

My bad, but if you already had a parfait this past Sunday...you can have another...I wont tell.
And that's all she wrote on that one.
*** Next is our salute (?) to ALL those "shots fired" calls in Fort Wayne aka "signal 113" in the past week.

Here we go again...

==============
NOVEMBER 17
(none)
NOVEMBER 18
14F150077 15:34:06 58 SHOOTING 4400 CHAMPLAIN DR
NOVEMBER 19
14F150254 04:08:47 113 SHOTS FIRED 1800 LUMBARD ST & NEW HAVEN AVE
14F150292 08:25:47 113 SHOTS FIRED 2700 COLISEUM BLVD S
14F150504 14:25:31 113 SHOTS FIRED 5600 FOXCROSS CT
14F150521 15:12:46 113 SHOTS FIRED 10500 UNCAS TRL
NOVEMBER 20
14F151043 19:39:51 113 SHOTS FIRED 3000 BARR ST S
NOVEMBER 21
14F151139 03:14:20 113 SHOTS FIRED 1000 RUDISILL BLVD E
NOVEMBER 22
14F151696 00:59:53 113 SHOTS FIRED 900 MCKINNIE AVE
14F151705 01:32:35 113 SHOTS FIRED 1700 LAFAYETTE ST S & WALLACE ST E
14F151706 01:34:12 113 SHOTS FIRED 900 COLUMBIA AVE
14F151711 01:38:14 113 SHOTS FIRED 600 SPRING ST
14F151989 17:48:02 113 SHOTS FIRED 1100 MCKINNIE AVE & OLIVER ST
14F152042 20:20:40 113 SHOTS FIRED 3300 ROBINWOOD DR & DREXEL AVE
14F152048 20:37:36 113 SHOTS FIRED 2500 BARR ST S
14F152049 20:38:08 113 SHOTS FIRED 1500 BERRY ST E
14F152064 21:31:25 113 SHOTS FIRED 900 WASHINGTON BLVD E
14F152073 21:49:56 113 SHOTS FIRED 6000 BUNT DR
14F151721 01:59:14 58 SHOOTING 4100 HANNA ST S & MILTON ST
NOVEMBER 23
14F152135 00:04:00 113 SHOTS FIRED 1800 SPRING ST
14F152209 02:57:23 113 SHOTS FIRED 1600 HINTON DR
14F152210 02:59:33 113 SHOTS FIRED 5000 ST JOE RD & CANTERBURY BLVD
14F152214 03:19:46 113 SHOTS FIRED 1600 HINTON DR
14F152226 05:35:57 113 SHOTS FIRED 3600 LAFAYETTE ST S
14F152417 17:40:47 113 SHOTS FIRED 4100 TILLMAN RD E

==============

Granted the week started OUT slow, and you can easily see that the WEATHER figures into this (too damn bitchin' cold to go and nuy mo ammo, dawg), but as the week wore on, the number of incidents jumped MARKEDLY, and you can rest assured that the majority of calls occurred on the...(...all together, gang...)...SOUTHEAST side of town.
You're all in good voice today.
Moving on...
*** An armed robbery perp gets caught by citizen tips.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20141124/LOCAL/311249914/1002/LOCAL

Magellan (what the hell is he, a freaking EXPLORER?) Princeton (a college he will NEVER attend) Steward (of what? Other people's stuff?), age 21 was busted by the FWPD on charges related to several armed robberies around Fort Wayne.
He was caught on CCTV and citizens came forward with descriptions, which led to the arrest.
His reply when asked about the crimes?
"It's just life"
Really?
Maybe the life YOU lead, pal...and maybe that's why so many of YOUR peers are behind bars, instead of attempting to become more than the pond scum you (and they) already are...ever think of that?

Listen to "The Duke".

Life is not easy, so who the hell are you to think otherwise and take advantage of people who ARE working their way through it?
Whatta loser...probably be out way too soon to start anew..
*** And now we come to the center of this shrubbery maze...a town called FERGUSON.
The indictment against officer Darren Wilson did not yield the "result" that those who wanted their "pound of flesh" desired.

This is NOT the answer...

Here's the story link from FOX (with live feed):
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/25/ferguson-grand-jury-decision/
As could be predicted (from knowing the way people act...or rather REACT), whatever protest that began in a civil manner, devolved into a scene which only could be described as a damn war-zone.

It speaks volumes about the "low-information" crowd that in many cases didn't even know what has been going on, but USED this event to cause chaos and anarchy.
And it wasn't only in Ferguson.

80 arrests and 25 businesses destroyed (so far).

Around 90 other cities had protests following the decision by the grand jury.
Philadelphia, Oakland, NYC, L.A....all the places one could expect whenever the need arises for "something to do".
Now, I have my take on all this, and see what you might agree with.
1)  The way events played out followed a "pattern"...first, you had protests.
2)  Then you had taunting of the police, which escalated to tossing rocks and bottles.
3)  Police responded with OC gas and smoke.
4)  Protesters became more agitated and began to riot.
5)  Destruction of property then ensued, with a police cruiser torched, and businesses nearby vandalized.
6)  Looting followed after that, with booze being the #1 choice, along with cell phones, and auto parts...as if ANY of these items have a single thing to DO with the grand jury's decision.
7)  After the looting came ARSON...most likely to destroy any evidence that could be collected from the looted businesses tying it to the vandals.
8) When firefighters arrived on scene to put out the fires, gunshots rang out (not from police), and this can be taken to ward off the firemen so the blazes can engulf the properties completely

Yep, this is America.

This is a pattern that is repeated with damn near every event such as the one in Fergison last night.
The gunshots reminded me of a "typical" New Years in OUR part of Fort Wayne s ghettohood...only WE never seem to get the police out in force to quell the gunfire. Hell, I don't even police pulling over people with no license plate bulbs...or headlights.
In Ferguson, I did notice the police not going after those doing the shooting, and the LEOs had some MRAPS on scene - those "Bearcat" armored vehicles that the DHS bought several THOUSAND of a while back.
Wonder why not?
They are both bullet and bomb resistant.
This demonstration of depravity of the human species is not as much about black-on-white as it is black-on-BLUE.
This inherent and incessant disdain for those who CHOOSE to patrol our streets (well, not maybe MY street as much as they used to) and place themselves in harm's way to ensure safety for EVERYONE has got to cease.

The police aren't there JUST when "you" have your (good) boy gunned down by another drug dealer.
We hear only about police acting inappropriately and never all the good they do.
And whenever a white officer so much as LOOKS at a minority, it's taken as some sort of disrespectful affront.
This also applies to any black officer, but not AS much, because of the racial component.
It's little wonder you have so few minorities on police forces across the nation, which (to some) doesn't "reflect the community" as it should. Many minorities don't even want to be bothered with their own kind who pursue lives of crime, and who can blame them?

Again, it's the "entitlement mentality" that seems to be more in control here, and by that I mean THEY are the ones causing the riots, the looting, the arson. and everything else that is bad concerning such events as we see in Ferguson.
There is the FIRST AMENDMENT, and then there is FEELING ENTITLED - don't ever confuse the two, like these mooks.
*** Last back to the precinct house...humans are capable of a great many things...

Some are very good, while others...well, we see what can happen when evil comes to play.
I've believed  for decades that we could see another form of "civil war" in America, and I prayed that I would always be wrong in that regard. This war would again be about ideologies, but of a much different sort.
It would not be about slavery as it was back in the 19th century, but rather another form of slavery - people becoming slaves to the race-baiters in this country. Tell the people something, and tell them often enough and loud enough...and they will start to believe it.
(that's Sharpton, Jackson, et all in a nutshell)
It's easier to FOLLOW than to LEAD, mainly because any form of leadership has irrefutable responsibilities that come with it, and that is too close to "work" for some people.
Now, toss in some "freebies" along the way, make those people FEEL entitled, and they will become quite malleable.

The shot heard around the world - 1775

It makes me wonder if Ferguson, MO could be the equivalent of Concord, Mass around 1775.
Both then and now represented forms of revolution, but in 1775, it was to rail AGAINST TYRANNY...not CREATE it.
And that is the major difference between the two.
Those in the minority communities who believe these riots wrong should speak up...and a lot louder than the race-baiters.
We once fought a war to break free of tyrannical rule...and won.
We fought another war to free men from slavery...and won.
And these wars were on our OWN soil.
We fought other wars around the world to allow other people the right to freedom and liberty, and to stop the spread of various ideologies that were counter-productive to the human condition...and we won those.
Let's NOT start a conflict that will so divide this country beyond repair, because Abraham Lincoln was right when it comes to division of this country.
A nation divided against itself cannot stand.
Therein lies the lesson for today.

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