Thoughts For Thursday...

It's a BIG difference from yesterday morning, isn't it?
(well, this IS Indiana, after all)
Not near as cold (or windy) as it was a mere 24 hours ago...but that doesn't mean that Old Man Winter is taking a sabbatical for any extended time.
It's barely after 0600 hrs and we're warmer (?) than yesterday's high at 21 degrees.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will have us seeing all the snow and ice melt later on, as we reach a high of around 40 degrees.
We're still stuck with mostly cloudy skies, though.
So, what say we get ourselves a nice warm morning drink poured as we see what's been going on elsewhere?
*** First off of the bookshelf is the answer to our WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them."

This was spoken by that Founding Father of ours, Patrick Henry (29 May 1736 - 6 June 1799), and he was an American attorney, planter and politician, who became known as an orator during the movement for independence in Virginia during the 1770s.
And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Henry

Henry also led the opposition to the Stamp Act in 1765. He was, along with Thomas Paine and Samuel Adams, regarding as a champion of Republicanism, and an invested promoter of the American Revolution and it's fight for independence.
After the Revolution, he actually opposed the Constitution, fearing that it endangered the rights of the states, as well as the freedoms of individuals. yet had helped gain adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
(like to have THIS Henry running Fort Wayne)
It's a good read, and if you need a refresher course, by all means, have at it.
*** Next up, is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
January 14 -
---Today is NATIONAL HOT PASTRAMI SANDWICH DAY

(Sounds like a winner to me...and oh, to be living in NYC and able to hit a deli there)
---It's also NATIONAL DRESS UP YOUR PET DAY

(Got a feeling that Scrappy isn't going to participate...lol)
---And, it's  RATIFICATION DAY

Here's some back-story to this, in which this act officially ended the Revolutionary War:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratification_Day_(United_States)
*** Next up, an ARREST has been made in the shooting that took place back on Monday.

Here's the story:
http://wane.com/2016/01/11/arrest-made-in-alexander-street-shooting/
Zanalynn Queviah Booker, 22, of Fort Wayne was "booked" (some irony there) into lockup for the shooting on Alexander St that left Anthony Davis, Jr in critical condition with a gunshot to the face.
Guess this perp was on the radar for a while, as the Gang task-force was behind this arrest.
Oops, and here's his RAP SHEET:
BOOKER, ZANALYNN Q  Also Known As  Swopshire, Zanalynn Q
Male Black, 5' 9", 200 lbs
=========================

LOSER!!!

02D06-1201-MC-000132
BOOKER, ZANALYNN
01/19/2012
Allen Superior Court 6
MC - Miscellaneous Criminal (Citation)
Decided
35-44-3-3(a)(1)/FD: Resisting Law Enforcement
35-42-2-1(a)(2)(A)/FD: Battery Resulting in Bodily Injury (victim is law enforcement officer)
02D06-1201-FD-000103
BOOKER, ZANALYNN
01/24/2012
Allen Superior Court 4
FD - Class D Felony
Decided
35-44-3-3(a)(1)/FD: Resisting Law Enforcement
35-42-2-1(a)(2)(A)/FD: Battery Resulting in Bodily Injury (victim is law enforcement officer)
35-44-3-3(a)(1)/MA: Resisting Law Enforcement
02D06-1310-CM-004826
BOOKER, ZANALYNN Q
10/28/2013
Allen Superior Court 6
CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided
35-47-2-1(a)/MA: Carrying a Handgun Without a License
Active Warrant 02D06-1510-F6-001025
BOOKER, ZANALYNN Q
10/28/2015
Allen Superior Court 6
F6 - Felony 6
Pending
35-44.1-3-1(a)(3)/F6: Resisting Law Enforcement def. uses a vehicle to commit the offense
35-44.1-3-1(a)(3)/MA: Resisting Law Enforcement def. knowingly or intentionally flees from law enfo
35-44.1-3-1(a)(2)/MA: Resisting Law Enforcement def. knowingly or intentionally forcibly resists, 
======ADDRESSES=========
3319 Sequayah PASS 
Fort Wayne, IN 46806
3715 Gaywood Drive
Fort Wayne, IN 46806
2511 DREXEL AVE
Fort Wayne, IN 46806
He now faces more charges of aggravated battery and criminal recklessness.
What?
No firearms charges?
*** Next, we FINALLY have a winner to that obscenely huge Powerball jackpot of $1.6 BILLION BUCKS.

Read 'em and weep.

Well, make that THREE winners (or winning tickets).
About damn time...maybe we can forget the hooplah for a spell and get back to life 101, without all the hype associated with hundreds of millions of people hoping to make the BIG score.
Now you wait and see...the next "fad" will be to see IF the lottery (or ANY lottery for that matter) can surpass the former total amount of this past Powerball...
(get the Guinness Record Books ready again).
Amazing how the GOVERNMENT can ALLOW this type of gambling...BUT will bust anyone who performs similar gambling venues (like the old "street numbers".). Another double standard? Yasureyoubetcha.
*** Next, Kevin Leininger had a really good "sign-off" article , and I think it shows what journalism CAN be about.
Here's the story link:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/The-years-taught-me-that-good-journalism-is-next-to-godliness----and-that-s-the-truth

No "goodbye". Just "Until we meet again".

Not gonna be the same to NOT have a more conservative "voice" in this city's media.
Got some decent size shoes to fill there.
*** Next , Looks like there is an implicit BIAS when ordering at Starbucks these days...in "theory" at least. Here's the story:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/13/oregon-state-workshop-ordering-starbucks-shows-implicit-bias-relates-to-killings-of-black-men/

And THAT is why I prefer MY OWN COFFEE, thank you very much.
(the price is right and the ambiance cannot be beat)
Don't we have better things to attend to, and much more IMPORTANT things to teach in college "workshops"?
These leftards see bias behind every damn thing, and are the first to point that out to anyone not in (goose)step with THEIR agenda...it's more than disgusting and doesn't represent the VALUES and PRINCIPLES of AMERICA.
I say that, because you KNOW this person behind this workshop simply CANNOT be a conservative.
(whatta pinhead)
*** Next up, we are back to having issues with the paper carrier. This crap never seems to end.
We get a month or two of decent service, and then, right back to those "old habits".

Funny, I don't see a clear sidewalk THERE.

This time, it's the running up the side of the lawn (damaging the decorative fencing we have placed there to DETER such actions) to deliver the paper...EVEN thought he sidewalks are perfectly CLEAR of snow.
Three days in a row now, and naturally after you send along a tip for the carrier with the recent bill from the paper.

Well, that's not gonna happen again, until this gets cleared up (again).
How easy can I make it for someone who apparently suffers from Oppositional Defiance Disorder?
I plan to email the route manager every day until this gets resolved, too.
Work ethics? Definitely a LOST ART these days.
*** Last back to the easy chair...you ever wonder WHY we have the problems we do in today's world? I know I do, an way too often.

What with teens valuing their damn smart phones OVER a driver's license (for one thing), and people who grow into adulthood with little to no sense of what it takes to be a GOOD employee or to DO A GOOD JOB at whatever position they find themselves.
It's like putting a 6-month junior senator (with no prior government occupations at ANY level) into the Oval Office...no job experience.

A HUGE "oops" moment.

(oh, wait, we ALREADY have done that, right? How'd THAT work out for this country?)
And some jobs are so very SIMPLE to manage that you really have to go OUT of your way (or up someone's lawn) to screw the hell up, right?
We in this country NOW have to deal with two generations of such individuals, and they're making babies to boot, so we can probably write off a third generation...lacking of the ability to critically THINK and therefore act in a more proper manner as befitting whatever situation they find themselves in, hmm?

How many people are DEVOID of such things?

Doesn't the world have enough crappy things to deal with daily WITHOUT adding to them?
One would certainly believe so, yet some people revel in chaos, it appears.
That has to change...soon, and (imho), it can't begin early enough in life.
Schools are starting to teach CIVICS in classrooms (again), but not at a young enough age.
(now all we need are some classes in ETHICS)
We used to call them "formative years" for a REASON, and this is as good a time as any to get back and do what we USED to do...in the classroom, so we can grow ourselves a better generation once again, if for no other reason than the chide those who came before them who NEED such chiding.
Sounds like a plan to me.

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