Humpday Happenings...

Wow, middle of the week already, and rapidly approaching our Labor day weekend.
Doesn't quite seem like September...more like July, actually.
Our Hoosierland weather today finds us with another hot and humid day (what? NO Hazy tossed in?)
Temps will again reach into the upper 80s, and if there is any breeze out there, it will (also) be a warm one.
And, as could be predicted, the "chance" of a late afternoon shower could be in the offing.
(don't stow away the shorts and sunscreen just yet, kids).
Now that we have that over with, let's all get a refreshing drink poured and look into what is going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the junk drawer is our WHO SAID THAT? quote of the week:
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies."
Now is THIS doesn't spell things out when it comes to politics, I don't know what does.
So, WHO said that? The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
Meanwhile, back in Freedonia...
*** Next up, we have our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
September 2 -
---Today is NATIONAL VJ DAY

(be nice to have a national holiday when Obummer leaves office)
---It's also NATIONAL BLUEBERRY POPSICLE DAY

(and we all know what color that will turn one's tongue, right?)
*** Next, we all know that our "Whiner-in-Chief" has been in our 49th state to push HIS agenda (global warming aka climate change), and is also busy renaming mountains, but he's also called for MORE ice-breaking ships for the Coast Guard.

Here's the story link:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/01/obama-to-propose-building-new-icebreakers-to-protect-us-interests-in-arctic/
Now, forgive me for being the logical one in the room on this, but IF the ice caps are MELTING...why would we need MORE ships?
If anything, it would seem we would need LESS, if we were to follow his "flawed rhetoric", right?

Will someone give this idiot a shove?

This guy is getting SO damn easy to catch in his lies, it's no longer funny. But it IS obvious.
Oh, as an adjunct to this, Russia is increasing it's activity in the arctic while the U.S. pulls out 3000 troops from Alaska.
Now that's kinda odd.
But, I'm sure that will definitely bamboozle the hell outta those Russkies.
*** Next,  A manhunt is on in northern Illinois for three men (two whites and one black) who gunned down a police lieutenant slated to retire in 29 days!.

Here's this story:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/02/manhunt-on-for-gunman-after-cop-reportedly-killed-in-chicago/
Many news sources have said this was "near Chicago"...sorry, but FIFTY MILES AWAY is not THAT close, so don't fool people into thinking it's going on in a "suburb"..it's very misleading.
A 32 year vet of the department was shot around 0800 hrs yesterday and later found in a marshy area of Fox Lake (near the Wisconsin border).

Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz - R.I.P.

This was when he radioed dispatch that he was on a foot pursuit after 3 suspicious males. radio contact was lost after that.
The officer was found by back-up units and was pronounced dead at the scene.
His service pistol and other duty gear was missing.
The hunt goes on for the three in an area where finding a needle in a haystack would be easier to locate.
*** Next up, all these recent number of attacks on law-enforcement officers has got me (and a lot of other folks) very troubled. And deservedly so.

Much of the WHY behind this can be traced back to changes in our military. But it doesn't have a thing to do with the gear the troops or police have acquired...not one damn bit.
It's more devious than that...
It's all about what we call THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT.
Think about it...when military troops are NOT allowed to do the job they signed on for, that places them all at risk in a combat theater.
In warfare, you don't always have the luxury of being able to "pick and choose" targets, or the method to achieve an objective.
Bullets (of any size) are dumber than a bag of rocks and will travel in ONE direction only.
People  (who have NO idea what combat or killology is all about) dictate these "rules" which only permit engaging an enemy under SPECIFIED conditions...and that is BULLSHIT.
You fight to WIN...you never fight for a "draw" or definitely never fight for a LOSS.

Don't see the words "and get ambushed" there.

The same thing that politicizes warfare in other countries (and led to the decisions in both Korea and Vietnam, rather than a decisive VICTORY over Germany and Japan) has now made it onto our city STREETS.
Police and their tactics are being "redefined" in order to make law-enforcement more of an "ambassadorial" position, than a LAW-ENFORCING demeanor, and that gets officers KILLED.

When you hold back and become reactive in nature, instead of being proactive, or "taking the fight to the enemy" as it were, you (the powers that be) have devalued the stance of the police and proclaimed that an officer's life is not AS important as it used to be.
That is inherently WRONG, because police are usually the FIRST line of defense against crime (right after the ability to arm oneself and personally take out a threat). This new rhetoric places everyone at-risk...both the officers AND the public.
I have no love for the criminal element in ANY city, and to amend policy in police departments in order to "better serve the neighborhoods" is self-defeating...it causes a lack of trust in police to be able to do the job OF enforcing our laws, and gives way to even more lawlessness.
If people are bad...arrest them. If they impede an investigation...arrest them. If they present a danger, take them down. Hesitation can often be that which might kill you.

Sheriff David Clarke "gets it".

And, like in warfare, innocent people WILL (unfortunately) also get killed...that's why war is so undesirable.
But the alternative to waging war is pacifism, and that usually does not work out nearly as well for a lot more people. It paves the way for much worse things in society.
*** Last back to the outhouse...I mentioned on Monday how nice it was to have Chris and Laurie to our house over the weekend, and how refreshing it was to have good conversation with normal people.

We live in a world (today) that is very FAR from what we remember as being "normal".
And I know none of US had anything to do with that.
We enjoyed the way the world WAS...when it as less complicated and therefore allowed us to concentrate on the complexities of our OWN lives, yet, things were changed AROUND us, and we apparently had NO SAY as to HOW it was going to change.
Now, folks like us seem to be the "odd ones out", for we're seeing more bat-sh*t crazy stuff out there, and a helluva lot less normal.
What the hell happened that changed the way things were when they were better, or at least a lot more "calm"?
I got a call from my nephew Erik (Fire department captain in Alexandria, VA) and we chatted for about an hour, barely touching on politics, because I told him that damn near EVERYTHING was being politicized these days.
And maybe THAT is the root cause of many of our problems, 'ya think?.
When politics kept it's place, the rest of life was easier to deal with, but you add in that parameter and it throws the whole equation out-of-balance.
I believe that most issues we are forced to deal with are the direct result of political intervention where none is warranted or desired.

Modern-day road sign for life?

That WILL complicate things...a lot.
I would like a return to days when life was not an exercise in being psychologically drawn and quartered on a daily basis.
And I think a lot of others would also like to see that.
We need to tame the beast of politics and keep it caged, unless we prefer being attacked and mauled by the animal it has become.

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