Thoughts For Thursday...

We're closing in on another weekend. Sure seems much calmer without all that damn hype from the election.
Wonder what America will dredge up NEXT to divert it's attention from things that matter?
(oh, wait..."bassabawl" season is coming...cripes)
Our Hoosierland weather for today finds us with a more seasonal start this morning, which will provide us with sunny skies, temps reaching up to 60 degrees, a little wind, and no rain on the immediate horizon.
Guess we can deal with that, hmm?
Let's go wet our whistle with that first drink of the day, as we see what else is going on.
*** First off of the couch is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"Life in general has never been even close to fair, so the pretense that the government can make it fair is a valuable and inexhaustible asset to politicians who want to expand government." 

This was spoken by  Thomas Sowell, (born June 30, 1930), and he is an American economist, social theorist, political philosopher, and author. Here is his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sowell
He is probably one of the THE best people to read when you want to find out the pulse of America, especially when you want the truth about minority communities, and NOT the leftist slant from the usual uber-biased pundits.
He also dropped out of high school to serve in the USMC during the Korean war.
He earned himself a bachelor's degree (magna cum laude) from Harvard in 1958 (when it was a much better university), and then a masters from Columbia (in 1959). He earned his doctorate (economics) from the University of Chicago in 1968.
He is also a National Humanities Medal recipient.
His early life was not the easiest, but shows how a person can do for themselves and succeed.
His writings are quite substantial and worthy of your time.
In his book, Marxism: Philosophy and Economics, he shows his opposition to this ideology in his critique of Marxism. Another of his works, Intellectuals and Race, he shows how the IQ gap between blacks and whites is similar to gaps when a nation absorbs immigrants.
As can be expected, conservatives laud his work and columns, while liberals (both black and white) see him as an ideologue.

Like I said, it's worth your time to not only read up on him, but to get some of his works and peruse them, as well as his syndicated columns (or guest appearances on cable news channels).
I know I learned a LOT already, and I very much admire this man.
*** Next up, time for our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
NOVEMBER 10 -
---Today is the Birthday of the USMC

(Semper Fi, you hard-chargers)
---It's National Forget-Me-Not Day

(oh, don't worry, I got THIS one covered all too well)
---And, it's National Vanilla Cupcake Day

(s long as there is creme filling, no problem)
*** Next, WTF is up with all this violence in the wake of  Trump's presidential victory?

Agitators for the sake of agitation.

I don't recall any such crap happening after Obummer won (either time), and we certainly had REASON to  protest THOSE two elections, did we not?
Here's a story from the Washington (com) Post about the mayhem:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-white-house-win-promises-to-reshape-us-political-landscape/2016/11/09/62baa5e4-a66a-11e6-ba59-a7d93165c6d4_story.html

Damn leftards at it AGAIN...nothing will EVER satisfy them.
Maybe these so-called "students" should go smoke some of that (illegal) LEGAL pot and leave well enough alone.

Spend some time at THIS school.

Or, maybe they DID smoke some pot and THAT'S why they got their panties in a bunch.

Either way, they all need to STFU and STFD.
*** Next up, and speaking of pot smoking, there was this column from Frank Gray:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/frank-gray/Pot-laws-passed--future-is-a-bit-hazy-16231582

Frank makes a very good case against the legal versus illegal aspect to marijuana in America.
Basically, the FEDS say it's still ILLEGAL, but some states gave the feds the "middle finger salute" on this one and went ahead legalizing it anyway.

Want THEM running this country?

Thing is...the feds have done NOTHING to stop any of this...and why is that, you suppose?
Guess the feds only look the other way "when it's convenient to do so"?
Obummer says pot is "less dangerous than alcohol", and HE should know...he was a pothead when he was in college. That explains his flawed intellect.

Oops, too late, they already are.

What Gray mentions is that whatever side you seem to take on this, someone will damn you for that opinion.
So much for meaningful DIALOGUE, right?
And, like he also mentions, pot IS good for the snack food industry.
*** Next, we actually had a leaf pickup yesterday...such as it was.

From November 2011

Used to be a time (when we had much better neighbors around the "Fortress") that a leaf crew consisted of about FIVE rakers and a front-loader.
I posted pictures here YEARS ago (seen above once again).

A lot more effective - less haphazard

All the leaves were raked into the street, the front loader (with a cage on the front) would move the leaves to the intersection, and then scoop them up into a dump truck.
And that was a proper way to do it.

No longer.
Now, it's one truck, one raker and one person manning a "sucker" that vacuums the leaves placed by the curb-strip (only) into a closed hopper behind the truck...hardly a better job being done.

That's ONE job that SUCKS.

And yesterday, the guys stopped for lunch halfway through doing our front...for about NINETY MINUTES. now THAT is a nice, long LUNCH-HOUR, right?
Maybe we should all work for the city?
We're still waiting on the side street to get "sucked" clean...whenever that will be. Perhaps today.
(I should get the leaf blower and move all the leaves in the driveway to the curb, or not)
*** Next, as usual, I placed some dry cat food out on the patio table (in case Hobo ever comes back)...and it's STILL there (since last evening).

Sure miss the hell outta THESE days.

Okay, so suddenly, we have NO cats at all in the area? Who the hell is scarfing them all up, anyway?
Not even a raccoon came by to eat it, and they'll damn near eat anything, as the overfilled trash-bins will attest to. The critters LOVE those, and the local morons are much too obliging in that regard.
We'll see what shakes out today.
*** Last back to the davenport...one thing I've noticed of late, is that we've a crapload of idiots in the world (and an ever-growing number just in OUR country..

Unfortunately, many of them happen to reside too close for my comfort.
The student protests, the BLM'ers, all the other fringe groups are being given free reign to create chaos in our own midst, and to what purpose is it actually serving?
Everyone just cleans up after their messes and we're supposed to "forgive and forget".
Sorry, that hackneyed excuse doesn't cut the muster these days...not for me.
I'm damn sick and tired of seeing MY country (and yours) slowly devolving into pockets of anarchistic behavior, all in the name of some ludicrous agenda that has NO reason under the sun to exist in the first place.

We are losing our nation to these fools, and saying little and doing nothing to assuage whatever moronic message these loons are supposed to be touting.
They don't want to debate any issue, don't wish to engage in any form of dialogue...they just want things THEIR WAY...or else.
I got news for them - "There are a million things in this world you can HAVE, and a million things you CAN'T." (Capt. James T. Kirk - "Charlie X" - 1966), and it's high damn time you figured out the difference and put on your adult pants and got with that program.
Try WORKING for what you want or need, instead of bitching about what you don't have. Start doing for yourself and stop doing to others and taking from others.
THAT is the way this mation is supposed to operate...everyone working together, because we all are WORKING in the first place to better ourselves, our families and our country.
Settling for anything less, is just foolish for everyone concerned.

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