Thoughts For Thursday...

The weekend looms ever closer, and that's a good thing, isn't it?
That feeling of deja vu will continue again, so be prepared.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will have us with some scattered showers early on, partly cloudy skies and temps rising to around 63 degrees.  We will see the sun today. And there is a slight breeze outside.
Now, let's put things aside for a bit, as we get our morning drink poured and take a peek at some of the other things that have been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the coat closet is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."
This was attributed to JOHN CALVIN (10 July 1509 - 27 May 1564) who was a FRENCH (oh, yes...not English) theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. And here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calvin

He was originally trained as a humanist lawyer (of all things), but broke from the Roman Catholic church around 1530. After a violent uprising against Protestantism in France, he fled to Switzerland.
It was in Geneva where the real reform started.
There was mutual respect between Calvin and Martin Luther, but there were doctrinal differences between them. The article is rather long, and I will only say that if you're interested in HOW the reformation took place and what it entailed, then bone up on this.
Let's say we owe much (if not all) of the Protestant movement to him.
The good news is that it doesn't detract from the realm of Christianity...just adds to it.
Moving on...
*** Next up is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
May 5 -
---Today is NATIONAL ASTRONAUT DAY

(we still have those, right? I'm not sure these days)

---It's also NATIONAL CARTOONIST DAY
(Jim Davis still gets my vote)
---It's CINCO DE MAYO

Not a good day for the French.

(not an AMERICAN holiday, just another day to screw off and get plastered)
---And, it's NATIONAL TOTALLY CHIPOLTE DAY

(Has to be a tie-in with the cinco deal)
---It's also NATIONAL HOAGIE DAY

Blimpies - where for art thou?

(okay, NOW we're talking REAL food here...also known as "subs" to the non-east-coasters)
And, it's the NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

(Would be nice if the prayers were directed to the reclamation of our nation)
It's also the NATIONAL DAY OF REASON.

(reason AND prayer - two great things that go great together, right?)
I could also toss in here WORLD PASSWORD DAY, but we already know the importance of having a good one, so why belabor the point, hmm?
*** Next up, an excellent entry on today's OP-ED page from the J-G.

Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/columns/Annexation--Exploitation-12860603
This is a very well thought out explanation behind much of the reasoning of such annexations.
(and today IS the National Day of Reason after all)

"Most annexation is theft", states the writer...and he's correct.
Blind people can see this one easily enough.
And a quote in the article from none other than Mark Twain (pertaining to 19th century South Pacific islanders) hits the mark wonderfully. The writer did his homework in this regard.
Talk about some truth-telling...I love it.
*** Next up, there is a little more information about the dead woman found in her Southbridge apartment earlier this week. here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/Body-found-in-apartment-ID-d--cause-not-known-12905708

All that's being said at this time is the ID of the victim. She was 49 year old Robin R. Nevarez.
Still no word as to the cause of death (tight-lipped as usual).
I wonder of the apartment complex issued any notice to the other residents?
It's not like there's NO crime there...there is, and it would serve law-abiding residents well to let them know to be on-guard...just in case.
***  Next, our election process IS a curious animal, and just to prove that point, here's THIS story:
http://wane.com/2016/05/04/the-unconventional-congressional-candidate-1-on-1-with-tommy-schrader/
Okay, so this guy is an "unconventional" candidate for congress?
Can you say UNDERSTATEMENT?
He DOES have the Constitutional right to run for office...and that's about it (imho).
You have to wonder about someone who refers to himself in the THIRD person (on camera, at that).
For starters, he IS a "conservative" democrat. That in and of itself should be reason to question things, as I've never really come across ANY of those in my life.
He states that "political ambition" is in his blood. That might be the alcohol talking...lol.
Hey, I wanted to be Master of the Universe, but HE-MAN beat me to that one. And then I grew up.

Tommy Schrader is a Snider dropout (sophomore year), but did get a GED (and studied politics) from Anthis. Currently living at the Coliseum Inn, he is looking for an apartment (without a job, that's gonna be a might difficult). He will face Jim Banks in November.
Don't think looking for an apartment in D.C might be the best use of his "off-time".
And, I wouldn't go spending that $189K per year salary as congressman JUST yet, either.
*** Next, the FWCS is reviewing their policy when it comes to "gang-activity". Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/schools/FWCS--board-review-gang--transfer-policies-12903106

Now, the school system HAS had in place (for decades) anti-bullying policies, but (to me) there is a HUGE difference between bullying and GANG-related activities.
And to think that such activity has managed to filter down from the adult arena to our schools is deplorable.
The student transfer policy is also under scrutiny - been some accusations of "cherry-picking" students.
It's either "all or nothing at all" (as the song goes).
FWCS has policies that can ban a child's transfer, and the system is under NO obligation to accept any or all transfer students.
I think Dr. Robinson (FWCS superintendent) is on the right track here in having exceptions to say "no"  when it comes to transfer students.
*** Last back to the medicine cabinet...as I mentioned earlier in today's post, today is both the national day of PRAYER and REASON, and I would be remiss to say that this country doesn't need EITHER one. We (as a nation) do, and in such great need as to make one's head swim.

What this nation's majority of people settle for (these days) is nothing short of asinine.
This is all over the charts, too. In our schools, our workplaces, our streets, our stores and homes...there's no getting away from this. Mediocre has become the new "exceptional", and to what end?
Didn't we all used to strive to DO better...BE better...and WANT better, not only for ourselves, but for our children, as well as others?

When did all this get tossed out with the bath water?
My Dad used to say something to the effect that "A job not worth doing well, is not worth doing at all". Where the hell he got all these maxims beats me. He did read a lot.

And, he impressed upon me that I should attempt to do MY best whenever I had to, which I have.
Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, but that should not mean we give up TRYING.
Well, these days, it does. People give up BEFORE they even try. Helluva path of success, isn't it?
And yet these same people EXPECT the same rewards as those who HAVE tried (and especially succeeded). Yeah, that old "entitlement" monster again.
It's easy enough to see the cycle repeat itself, and why we, as a people have even allowed this to start baffles me.
No boundaries, no respect, no consequences, no achievement, no success...THAT is what gets the reward.
And that is simply BASS-ACKWARDS THINKING!
This country needs to wake the hell up from it's slumber and smell the brains being fried with this dangerous rhetoric, before it's too late.
It's too easy to settle for less, but allowing oneself the opportunity to achieve more grants a level of accomplishment greater than one can imagine. Real happiness comes from being someone and doing something.
Anything less does more harm than can be realized.

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