Humpday Happenings...

Welcome to the mid-week crisis we call WEDNESDAY.
That rain must have finally arrived overnight, because I managed to get a decent night sleep (rain tends  to keep the boomcar drivers at bay for the most part).
Our Hoosierland weather for today sees us turning a corner, as it were, with warmer temps reaching all the way up to the mid-to-upper 60s (that trend will continue into next week), and after this morning, no rain until Saturday (so they say). Take those sunglasses with you. I have a feeling you might need them.
Now, with that over with, let's see what's been going on elsewhere, as we get ourselves a cup of comfort...
*** First off of the sofa is our WHO SAID THAT? quote of the week:
"Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice." 

Since everything in life has SOME sort of choice involved (even the lack choosing is in fact, a choice), I thought this most appropriate.
So, WHO said that? The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
Meanwhile, back in the Objectivist Newsletter...
*** Next up, we have our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
May 18 -
---Today is NATIONAL CHEESE SOUFFLE DAY

(I'm sure there is a Doctor Who - Clara Oswald reference there)
---It's also NATIONAL HIV VACCINE AWARENESS DAY

(okay, I'm aware of it...can I go now?)
---It's also NATIONAL NO DIRTY DISHES DAY

(never happens in our house)
---And, it's NATIONAL VISIT YOUR RELATIVES DAY

(well, mine are pretty much all deceased, so it's gonna be a bit hard to do so right now)
*** Next up, Abraham Lincoln used to have a great saying when it came to the court system.

And now, we have proof that what he said is so very true.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/courts/Suspect-in-rape-acts-as-defense-13108433
You remember Walik Whiteside, right?

Separated at birth?

I call him BUCKWHEAT, and he dates back to two posts here (28 Feb 2014 and 25 March 2015), but his story goes farther back to 2012 when he raped a jogger along the Rivergreenway near Lower Huntingdon Rd.
He wanted to represent HIMSELF, and all I could think of was that Lincoln quote.
Suffice it to say that Judge Gull didn't want any part of this delaying nonsense. A prior plea deal was also removed from the table, and now his trial begins.
(hope he's not prone to dropping the soap in the shower, if you get my drift). The trial is set to continue through tomorrow. Bet he's found guilty.
*** Next up, and speaking of bad pennies that keep coming back, there's an update to a story I posted here (4 May 2016).
http://www.21alive.com/nbc33/Fort-Wayne-police-stop-man-headed-to-Ohio-in-child-prostitution-case--379823061.html

It's the perp that thought he could pimp a 14-year old in Ohio...and got caught by the FWPD when they noticed an ILLEGALLY PARKED VEHICLE on Winter St.
(something I wish the police would attend to down along OUR streets a lot more frequently - Lord only knows what they'd discover here.)
The girl, who was found asleep on the back seat (and wearing a lot of makeup) told police she met Patrick Javon Davis on...(...take a wild guess...)...FACEBOOK!
Helluva way to recruit new "prospects" for pimping in another state, isn't it? What did I just say yesterday about people bastardizing our technology? Proof positive, folks.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, Davis DID rape the girl the night before they were supposed to head out to Ohio. (talk about your total scumbags, hmm?)
*** Next, Indiana's 4th district statehouse rep provides an editorial for the whole school food debacle and how it can better serve those in need.

Todd Rokita

Here's the link to the column:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columns/Kids--taxpayers-gain-in-school-food-reforms-13090457
This is a pretty good read and shows some serious thought (odd from a politician these days).
Todd Rokita also takes to task the misrepresenting of his stance in the editorial I featured here a couple days ago (Sunday J-G). That alone is worth the price of admission (for me).
*** Next up, when it comes to schools, I can say that the ones I attended were never what we would call segregated.

But today, all the advances made in equal "rights" and integration of our schools might not be turning out quite "as planned", as evidenced by THIS story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/us/School-segregation-on-rise--data-show-13109289
Wow...school SEGREGATION is on the rise? After all these years?

That was back in the 1960s

Yep, the writing's on the wall (we call it graffiti).
Naturally, this study is coming at you from a poverty standpoint, citing that whites are (all) affluent.
(Musta been a leftard doing this one) Hey, we still got us poor WHITE people, too, idiot!
We can blame this administration's GAO for the report.
The unraveling of the Brown v. Board of Education determination is happening, like it or not.
(BTW, this does tie in with the school lunch freebie programs)

Today - more black schools.

These dems who are leading this charge are saying that the government is no longer committed to fighting for the civil rights it once championed.
I thought the LAWS that were passed took care of that. Don't these people want to WORK at maintaining them, because like anything that's worth having...it's worth KEEPING, right?
*** Next, and a bit closer to home, a slice of "life" story.

Don't tread on ME.

The neighbor's "kids from hell" decided to disturb my calm last night (after the sun went down) when I saw them on our hill near the corner, so I did what anyone would do...I LIT THEM UP WITH A SPOTLIGHT...and kept it on their FACES until they moved the hell away.
Maybe a call to Child Protective Services might be in order. They're never supervised and allowed to roam about, and they're nowhere close to being in high school. Another (newbie) neighbor said something to the kids when he found them in his yard (they breached a fence to get in). And this other neighbor is not what I would call "the best of the bunch", either. They have loud music issues.
*** Next, our new squirrel, Squirt is fast becoming a fixture on the patio, but it's not without a few bumps in the road.

Hey, that's where Patches eats.

I've already seen him chase Patches away (that won't work for me).
Patches WAS here first, and we DO have a proper "pecking order".

"He's right, you know."

Everyone gets fed, but we don't steal from others to get fed (that's what our government-sponsored "neighbors" do...LOL).You just don't want to have territorial disputes...that kinda stuff is best left to the towel-headed, jihadist-lovin' camel-jockeys in the Middle East.
*** Last back to the coffee table...we got a new "assessment" to our property yesterday in the mail and being the curious person I am, decided to open it.

All I can say is that I was bemused by this recent deal.
Without spending anything in the last several years OUTSIDE our "Fortress", the assessed value has RISEN from $33K (and change) to a whopping $38K...!!!
Now, how the hell do you suspect THAT happened, since we have no GROWTH in this part of town (retail or otherwise), and any houses in the area never get sold, but just rented out to the next bunch of mooks and hooligans?

Our Fortress has APPRECIATED in value?

Sounds a bit like some sort of artificial inflation to me, or it "could" be that we have one of the few properties down here that CAN actually increase in value...hard to say.
Someone must think we're worth an extra $5K (and that means higher taxes, but the yearly property tax for us is STILL under $200 bucks. I can say that if this house were to become another rental, the value would go DOWN.
When you have houses in the area that are assessed at UNDER $15K, you just HAVE to wonder.

This is OUR area.

And, it's not as though we've had the luxury of people moving into the other properties who know how to TAKE CARE of the place...not at all. Quite the reverse, really.
I would like to believe that we've managed to stop the decline down here, but that seems a pipe dream.
There would be nothing better for us (and the city) IF such fantasies would become true...everyone makes out.
I suppose those on the SW side are seeing THEIR properties decline in value now, along with those up the EAST side of town...that usual progression that I said would happen (with the rising crime) years ago.
It's gonna be a long and bumpy ride for any of us who are hanging on down here, and want to see a turnaround of our situation. We all need to buckle up and hang on.

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