Thoughts For Thursday...

Okay, so it looks like a warmer day than yesterday...more of this roller-coaster weather.
If you don't catch a cold or the flu this season, you're doing pretty good.
And since the paper is running late (again...no surprise any longer), we'll take to the Internet to pick some stuff out to amuse and enlighten.
Our Hoosierland weather brings us partly sunny skies, with temps reaching back up to around 41 degrees, and slight winds out there still creating those wind chills.
Once again, do take care (early on) while driving, as roads and streets could have some slick spots, plus, others won't be bothered looking out for you nearly as much. Defensive mode, people.

Now, what say we get that morning cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa made as we take a gander at what's been going on elsewhere, hmm?
*** First off of the rooftop is the answer to yesterday's WHO SAID THAT? quote:
"It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office." 
This was spoken by H.L. Mencken  (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, satirist, cultural critic and scholar of American English. And here is his WIKI, in case you missed it the first time around:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken
((Known as the "Sage of Baltimore," he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the twentieth century.))
I'd wager if he toured Baltimore today, he'd die from the shock of what has happened to another once nice city.

((He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians and contemporary movements. His satirical reporting on the Scopes trial, which he dubbed the "Monkey Trial", also gained him attention.))
Well, he was a racist and anti-Semite, and opposed entry into both World Wars
((As a scholar, Mencken is known for The American Language, a multi-volume study of how the English language is spoken in the United States.))
Lord knows if he were alive TODAY, he could add a few MORE volumes to the study.
(( As an admirer of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, he was a detractor of religion, populism and representative democracy, which he believed to be a system in which inferior men dominated their superiors.))

As far as his religious beliefs...nobody's perfect, but he totally NAILED his outlook on democracy. We have had our share of late with inferior men dominating much of our nation (and lives). Congress is replete with them.
It's a decent read about a complex individual who saw life and people a certain way and didn't deviate from that. His satirical look at society, politics and life itself seem to come from another person (imho).
I certainly don't agree with everything the man stood for or believed, but you have to admit he was a more than able observer of mankind in many ways.
Moving on...
*** Next up we bring your the "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
January 25 -
---It's National Irish Coffee Day

(now THAT is a stellar way to start the morning)
---It's National Opposite Day

(great,  another congressional observance)
*** Next, our state has made "some" progress with the firearms carry laws. Here's the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/indiana/20180125/house-panel-oks-subdued-gun-bill

So the deal from what I read is this: You STILL need a permit to carry, BUT...((Under the amended bill, Indiana's four-year permit would expand to five years and still have a fee. Hoosiers would still get a background check every five years, but Indiana would likely qualify for a federal exemption that would be helpful. That exemption would eliminate background checks each time a permit holder buys a firearm.
The bill also would eliminate the fee for a lifetime permit. But federal background checks when purchasing a gun would still apply to those permit holders.))
That $125 cost will be waived (nice), but a national background check would be required (doable for me and I can pass that blindfolded - no criminal history at all).

I still can see issues with this...licensing for my Constitutional right, but at least we won't be PAYING for that right.
Now, all I have to do is WAIT...until 1 July 2019.
*** Next up, TODAY is the 40th anniversary of the Blizzard of 78 (that's 1978), and the J-G has a good article with pictures.

No, that's NOT me.

(in case you forgot what it was like...I was snowed in back in Philly at a girlfriend's house (in NJ...talk about CONVENIENT!)
Anyway, here's the link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20180125/whole-state-is-shut-down

Oh, to have an M-113 APC in THAT.

My Torino was snowed in over in Voorhees, NJ (up to the bloody HOOD, in fact), but my girlfriend's sister's car was able to be dug out and we actually drove away. That car was a 60s era VW bug! We drove OVER the snow, which says a lot for those cars.
You could count the traffic on roads with ONE hand...it was that bad. I couldn't get back home to Philly for two days.
I also recall a blizzard back in the late 50s when dad got out my sled and we went grocery shopping along the avenue in Frankford (nothing was running...not even buses).
It's all cyclical, and we didn't blame it on global warming, either.
*** Next, a rash of car break-ins has people on edge (as well it should) Here's the story link:
http://www.wpta21.com/story/37342975/car-break-ins-create-headaches-in-northside-neighborhood

This is taking place farther up on the north side of town involving sections of North Anthony Boulevard, Forest Park Boulevard, and a few blocks further east on the border of the Parkview Hospital Randallia campus.

Now I wonder WHO could be doing this?
Let's check out THIS story and see:
http://wane.com/2018/01/24/cameras-catch-break-in-one-of-several-recent-incidents/

Vehicle break-in from last year

Okay, so, by the look of the individual(s) caught on video, it would appear that they are not FROM the neighborhood, but rather (armed) BLACK males doing the break-ins.
And if you look at BOTH locations - N. Anthony Blvd and Sinclair St (NW central area), you could damn near draw a straight line from one area to the other...not far apart at all.
Rather than stay in the house watching the perps on video, I'd be SNIPING their asses from an upstairs window.
THAT would send a STRONG message to stay the hell away. People should not become victims in this manner.
*** Next up, we bring you the DOUCHE-BAG PARADE of local talent.
Here is a punk-ass robber who was dumb enough to get caught (on an unrelated incident):
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20180125/man-faces-robbery-charge

Moron!

Bruce T. Eaton, 19, of the 3000 block of Reed Street (SE) is the perp-in-question who likes to pistol-whip his home invasion victim SO hard, that shells are ejected from the firearm (that's HARD, folks).
What the hell is UP with that hair, anyway?
Buckwheat, he sho ain't!
Looks like a mind and heart that doesn't WANT to be changed for the better.
Plus, he's charged with possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon (has a history of repetition, it seems).
Guess HE never bothered with a gun permit, did he?
Next loser, please...
Here's a story about an animal abuser (graphic in detail):
http://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/police-fire/20180124/city-man-charged-in-animal-abuse

Idiot!

This piece of shit is Defonte C. Acklin, 22, of the 4400 block of Standish Drive, (SE) and he loves to beat the crap out of his dog (anger-management issues?).
When you have a kennel for a dog in an apartment, and you go out for a while, perhaps you might want to kennel that dog to keep it out of your TRASH?
I swear some people don;t DESERVE to have a pet...let alone sire children.
And what's with the effin HAIR with these mooks?
The dog (Nani) recovered from all her injuries, and was adopted into another home.
And this creep get charged big time for his lack of love of animals...(lose the key to HIS cell).
*** Next, let's unload all this crap and instead stop by our "Kitten Corner"...

Our "children" were doing well yesterday...seems they re-discovered some of their toys and played with them. That's when they weren't either eating, napping, or bird-watching.
Violet busied herself by staying out of trouble.
Gallifrey found out what the "surf house" (from our former cats) was to be used for...playing!

He was in the bottom section, batting at small stuffed mice, which bounced around  in the upper section.
Yeah, it was worth a "Kodak-moment"...or several.
*** Next up, it's time to check in with "Midnight and Company"...

Returning from his "patrol".

Our fearless and furry twosome were waiting at the patio door for "Wet-Food-Wednesday", and that is always a treat to get warm food on a warmed dish when it's cold outside.
Beef with gravy Friskies was on the menu.

Now this is yummy.

I give it TWO paws up.

I have to admit that it actually smells pretty good for cat food.
We also had yet another curious feline stop by.

This little cutie was too shy to come close, but looks like it could belong to the same litter than the other two that DID come by the other week. It's about the same size as the previous ones. Midnight was watching, and didn't want another interloper...understandable, I guess.
Whiskers didn't bother at all. She was too busy enjoying her meal.
*** Last back to the basement...we're always being told that crime is going DOWN.

Yet, so many stories of late would seem to tell just the OPPOSITE (and with it being National Opposite Day, it fits right in).
So, maybe homicides were down, but rapes were up, as were robberies and thefts.
Now, we could blame this on the opioid gig...or even global warming, but none of this excuses the BEHAVIOR of some in this city, does it?

Maybe the fact that our prosecutor can't manage to put these perps way (when they're even caught, that is) for any REAL length of time says a lot to me.
I know I'm tired of seeing innocent people becoming victims in this town, and so should you.

Like I also said many times, the crime we have down here IS spreading, and to the locations I mentioned.
Whether we choose to believe it or not, we are fast approaching a tipping point in this city, whereby the criminal element will get more than just a foothold in other neighborhoods all over the city, and that won't bode well for regular folks one damn bit.
No one that I can think of will be able to put this genie back into it's bottle any time soon, and that perhaps is the worst crime of all being perpetrated to normal folks in Fort Wayne.
This city belongs to US, the LAW-ABIDING people, and not the criminals...that should be the message going out daily.

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