You can watch the video HERE

The arrival of this notice reminded me of the old Bob Rohrman commercials that used to play on the radio when tax season was approaching. This was back when car dealerships had to pay tax on their inventory. In the commercial, Bob would urge buyers to come into his dealerships as quickly as possible so he beat the “tax man” who would always chant PREPARE TO PAY!

The State of Indiana has really pulled a number on its residents this time. While the City of Fort Wayne looks for ways to cut $9.5 million out of its budget, the state will collect additional sales tax which has now increased 40% in the last 6 years. (Correction: This post used to read that state sales tax had increased 40% since Daniels became Governor. A reader kindly reminded me that the increase from 5% to 6% occurred in 2002 prior to Daniels taking office.)

I have a feeling that locally we’re headed toward a period of stagnation and neglect.

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The real argument seems to fixate on grammar and capitalization.  This could keep all of the English professors in the United States busy in perpetuity.  I would suggest that 2^nd Amendment is written to protect each citizen’s right to keep and bear arms.  The foundation of this country is based on the common person’s ability to own fire arms.  Our earliest battles relied heavily on the self reliance and ability of our citizens to rise up and defend ourselves.  Some would argue this is a fact that has since passed its need or practicality.  But, has it?  I would consider our current state of security threatened and easily imbalanced in the new world of terrorism.  We don’t know when or where the next attack will take place, or what kind of attack it will be.

I’m a veteran.  I received military training on the proper use of firearms.  I don’t own an AR-15 or a RPG today.  However, I do own various weapons easily purchased from Dick’s Sporting Goods.  Now, I’m sure someone will be quick to tell me that guns kill people.  You won’t get an argument out of me on that.  I take the ownership of these weapons very seriously and practice responsible storage and handling procedures. 

Being realistic you have to also admit that people aren’t killed by guns alone.  The list of lethal weapons is long, so let’s look at some of the other weapons.  The knife does a fine job, as well as the baseball bat, shovel, hammer, beer bottle, rock…  Left alone or used properly none of these things will kill another person, guns included.  It’s not the weapon that kills; it’s the person using it. 

Absent of me owning a gun or having access to one, if someone breaks into my house and threatens my family, you can bet that something in my home is going to be a weapon even if it’s my own hands and teeth.  Forgive me, but war vets tend to be this way.  Beyond the scenario where the safety of my home is threatened and is expanded to be my community, you can bet that I will step up to protect my neighbors should it be necessary.  And, I know many of my brothers and sisters at American Legion Post 98 will be there as well.  That’s what veterans do. 

Okay, but I have left out gun violence and criminal activity.  Is this a gun problem or a behavioral issue?  It’s unreasonable to believe that we can eradicate guns or prevent the criminal element from getting their mitts on them.  Even if we were successful, there would still be the Ginsu knife, Louisville Sluggers bat, Ames shovel, True Temper hammer, Samuel Adams beer bottle and glacial rock to be misused in the act of a crime.

How do we deal with the gun problem?  Good question!

Child’s Dying Wish Going Unfulfilled

The Heartbreaking Story of a Young Cancer Patient and Her Incarcerated Father

For very sick little girls, sometimes a father can be the best medicine there is. But the heartbroken family of a 10-year-old Nebraska girl diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, who is not expected to live through the end of the month, say the Federal Bureau of Prisons has denied the child’s dying wish: that her incarcerated father be furloughed to be by his child’s bedside when she dies. …

Jason Charles Yaeger is serving the final year of a five-year sentence for a drug conviction in a minimum security prison camp in South Dakota, three and a half hours from his daughter, Jayci

Full Story Here:

In the meantime we have heinous criminals running the streets and playgrounds of America due to the growing prison overpopulation problem.  I would never have guessed that someone would serve “hard time” in a minimum security prison.   

Oprah is truly a philanthropic individual and has focused a great deal of her wealth to help the underprivileged.  The last I checked I didn’t fall into that class, nor did any of my neighbors.  I personally felt Oprah’s money should have been allocated for a community project in southeast Fort Wayne.  The scope of the Aboite Trails well exceeds a $10,000 donation.  This money could have paid for nice playground equipment in a neighborhood park where it could provide constructive recreation for children. 

My disappointment was somewhat eased when I read another blog that reported the money will be split between various governmental units who develop and maintain trail systems.  I sincerely hope the money attracts additional funds and actually has a positive impact on the greater Fort Wayne area.      

4.  Horrified that nobody with the last name of Lewisnky appeared in the Fort Wayne phone book.

3.  Found the skate park at Lawton Park to be “totally bitching, dude!”

2.  Read the Fort Wayne Newspaper and learned they hate virtually everyone, including him.

1.  Disappointed that the Fort Wayne Philharmonic declined his request to play saxophone.  Denial read “Our regrets, you suck too much to play a woodwind.”

It’s interesting that an elected official can officiate a wedding instead of an ordained minister.  To dissolve a marriage, you must obtain a decree from a judge.  In the state’s eyes a marriage is nothing more than a contract.  Beyond the “official” paper that states I’m married, my wife and I have a meaningful relationship, we had children and acquired common assets.  I have good friends who live the same lifestyle, but they are not married.  If their relationships dissolve, I’m sure a judge would have to intervene to decide the division of assets should there be a disagreement.  This is very similar to a divorce in many respects.

For whatever reason our elected officials think they need to define marriage more explicitly as the union between man and woman.  This type of legislation has no significant meaning to my marriage simply because I fall into the specified definition.  But, this does single out specific lifestyles.  Are we still such a slope-headed society that we need to persecute and single out natural segments of humanity?  I remember the days when color was the deciding factor on how you lived in society.  Thank God those days are well behind us.  But just as we begin to make forward movement as a civilization, this pervasive madness consumes us once again.  Heaven forbid that any parent be cursed with a child who is gay.  Your dreams as a parent will be completely obliterated knowing that our society has deemed this as some sort of communicable disease.  Understanding and acceptance would be a marvelous plague to have at this point in time. 

9. Secretly undergoes a major Botox therapy and comes out looking like John Kerry.

8. Promises to expand National Healthcare to include animals that illegally entered the United States.

7. Wages new attacks on Barack Obama and accuses him as being the father of Emanuel Lewis.

6. Shifts from using Fleetwood Mac for campaign songs and adopts Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back.”

5. Will eat her weight in Buckeyes in exchange for double-digit win in Ohio.

4. Promises an unprecedented expansion of every Texan’s 10-gallon hat to 12-gallons.

3. If she wins Ohio, pledges Executive Order to put Pete Rose in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

2. Threatens a wide-reaching federal ban on Selena music if Texas doesn’t “make with the delegates.”

1. Commits 6-man Secret Service detail to making sure Bill never answers the phone at 3 a.m.