Thoughts For Thursday...

If you felt that yesterday was a nice day, then you're in store for another treat today.
The down side is that we got a good look at how well the grass has been growing (uh,oh looks like another mow this weekend at the "Fortress"...again).
Our Hoosierland weather will see us with much of a repeat of Wednesday, but with temps reaching to (at least) the 70-degree mark. Toss in some blue skies and sunshine, and we've got ourselves a decent day ahead of us, so what say we get that soothing and refreshing drink poured as we take a look at what has been going on elsewhere, hmm?
*** First off of the bookshelf is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice." 

This was spoken by none other than AYN RAND (2 Feb 1905 - 6 March 1982) who was a Russian-born American novelist, playwright, philosopher, and screenwriter.
Here is her WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand
And is her official website:
https://www.aynrand.org/
Now, the WIKI is a rather extensive one, and I won't go into ALL the facts and details. That's up to all of you.
Think of it as a trip into a bit of enlightenment.

What I will say is that Rand had a marvelous way of looking at the human condition, and it showed in every work of hers. Not bad for someone coming from Russia
Rand advocated REASON as the only way to acquire KNOWLEDGE. I've never met an unreasonable person who was keen of becoming knowledgeable, so she must have been right there.
A shame she rejected all forms of religion, for she did have her finger on the pulse regarding much of mankind's problems and solutions.
She also opposed statism (and she believed religion to be a part of that, although I personally don't feel that to be the case).

She worked with conservatives on political projects, but disagreed with them on views about religion and ethics.
Rand is one of those philosophical anomalies, and I mean that in the best possible way.
Still, an objectionistic viewpoint is often better than a subjective one.
*** Next up is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
May 19 -
---Today is NATIONAL DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE DAY

(possibly, the ONLY thing I like with the word "devil" in it)
---It's also NATIONAL MAY RAY DAY

(another one of those "contrived" days by some goofball)
*** Next up, looks like we just notched homicide number ELEVEN (or twelve, if we ever count that woman found dead in her apartment that the coroner never told us what the cause of death was). I'll save the coroner some time here, and make the call on this one.

Here's the link to the story (so far):
http://www.21alive.com/nbc33/news/One-Dead-One-Wounded-in-Shooting-on-Northeast-Side-380068831.html
Well, I said time and again, that violent crime was moving up the east side as well as the SW...and there 'ya go...what more proof does anyone need?
This took place in the 9100 block of Brickshire Parkway, near Maysville Rd around 2315 hrs last night. Police found two victims in a vehicle: one wounded, a male adult, and one dead, a 17-yr old juvenile male, from gunshots. And there were witnesses to this shooting

Investigators believe the suspect was inside the vehicle when the shooting occurred, and was seen running from the area. Another person (female) in the car was found uninjured.
Police K-9 units were not able to get a track on the suspect.
((Update - 1130 hrs - WOWO - The shooter is described as a dark-skinned black man with a thin build, standing 5’10”. Detectives say the shooter’s motive appears to be robbery. They’ve figured out a person of interest and are working on finding him. ))
Police said that NONE of the people involved were FROM the Brickshire Village housing addition. It's got some neighbors in that area on edge, and with GOOD reason.
How about that? Now, you can have our types of SE crime come to YOU.
*** Next up, a seventy-six year old gets a visit from the local constabulary.

Here's the story link:
http://wane.com/2016/05/18/man-76-arrested-for-trafficking-morphine/

Shoulda stuck with BINGOI.

Um, isn't he a bit OLD to be trafficking MORPHINE?
Police raided a house in the 8000 block of Westwick Place yesterday and didn't find a meeting of the local AARP members. They DID find two adults, and in an attached garage, a stash of morphine pills, and $1788 in CASH (wasn't from a social security check, either). Police arrested Joseph Winston, 76 on charges of dealing a narcotic substance and maintaining a common nuisance.
The other person was not arrested.
Guess those "golden years" aren't going to be THAT golden for Old Joey, but perhaps have more of an ORANGE hue?
*** Next up, and in keeping with the amount of black crime we have in our fair city, there's THIS story:
http://www.21alive.com/nbc33/Two-armed-hold-up-Jefferson-Boulevard-bank-get-away-with-cash--379952161.html

I use the story from WPTA because THAT station isn't afraid to mention that the two men who pulled the robbery off were in fact, BLACK.
This took place yesterday morning around 0815 hrs, when a teller was ambushed as she was going to open the doors to the Partners First Federal Credit Union located at 6210 W. Jefferson Blvd (near Covington Plaza).
Two men ushered her inside, one of them brandishing a handgun.
After making off with money from register drawers, the two men fled in a silver-gray KIA, which was found to be stolen and abandoned at a nearby apartment complex later.

The descriptions are pretty good of the two male blacks.
Police are looking for surveillance footage from the bank and OTHER locations to provide pictures of the two men.
The credit union will be closed during the investigation.
Guess crime DOES pay, if you get up early enough. I swear we have people down here, that NEVER sleep, and that's always a cause for concern, and tends to keep you ever vigilant.
*** Next up, the near-saga of  Walik Whiteside, aka "Buckwheat" comes to it's timely end.

Dat not O-TAY?

Here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/courts/Jury-ignores-antics-to-convict-teen-of-rape-13126485

I'm sorry, but if I were on that jury, I'd be held in contempt...for LAUGHING so damn much.
I''d have to be asked to be excused before I wet myself, it was (apparently) THAT much of a sideshow with this perp.
Abraham Lincoln was SO right!
Whiteside was ALREADY serving a 25-year sentence for previous crimes, and NOW, he gets ANOTHER 25 year sentence. Sometimes, justice does prevail, no matter how stupid or lengthy a path it might take. Buh-bye, LOSER!
*** Next, and speaking of working...WTH is this deal about another edict from our "blamer-in-chief" (via the DOL)  regarding OVERTIME...for SALARIED employees???

Here's one take from The Daily Caller:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/05/15/unprecedented-overtime-expansion-likely-to-send-business-leaders-into-payroll-damage-control/

Now, I've been BOTH an hourly worker as well as a SALARIED one, and there WERE significant differences between the two, make no mistake..
When I was an HOURLY worker, I received O/T for ANYTHING OVER 40 hrs...period, and it was usually time and a half, unless it was on a weekend, where, depending on the employer, it might be DOUBLE TIME. My Dad has a similar deal and his was a union shop. You could receive TRIPLE TIME if it was a weekend AND a holiday.

When I was SALARIED, I might work 50 or more hours and never got any O/T...BUT, we did get a nice BONUS check at year's end. When I worked (salaried) for Circuit City, we got HALF TIME for any O/T (and they did away with year-end bonuses). I thought that very odd, and often spoke out against such practices.
But NOW, we're giving salaried workers the SAME "perk" as hourly workers, who are now making upwards of $15 an hour as an ENTRY-LEVEL pay.
Sorry, but THAT is a fine recipe for disaster when it comes to smaller businesses, plain and simple.
Hours CAN be cut to UNDER the 40 threshold, that's one way around it, so no one is any longer a "full-time" employee.

And there's that damn obummercare crap for employers to pay for, which cuts into budgets (and now paychecks), so employers might be more reluctant to HIRE additional people.
This cannot end well, no matter how you shake it.
*** Last back to the library stacks...we, as a nation of people, have got to start paying attention to what's being done to OUR way of life.

We have factions who are hard at work eroding the foundation of this great country, and if we're not careful (and alert to such things), will find ourselves on the short end of the "shit-stick".
In many ways, we're already there, and that's not good at all.
These leftists are giving away the farm, and to what end? Well, to subvert the American Way for one thing.
The government (at any level) is NOT there to run our lives, but to run this nation...that's ALL.

And we, as citizens who elect these government officials to WORK FOR US have to come to realize this.
As it stands now, we're all but working for THEM, and that's not a good thing.
The "hired help" should NEVER be running the ranch.
If we're not careful and we don't wake the hell up soon and get our acts together as a people, we're not going to even recognize our country, and I can tell you, that this nation is becoming less and less "familiar" as someplace I grew up in by the week. That's a sobering thought, but it's turning out to be all too true, isn't it?

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