Hey guys. Hope all are having a good start to the new year. In the "old days", it took me several weeks into January before I would get the year correct when writing checks - with internet and online banking and bill paying, I write maybe 5 checks a year (of course, that could be because Greg does all the bill paying). As most of you have heard, we lost one of our Broncos early this morning, due to a drive-by shooting. It really is hard to believe we were just watching him play yesterday and today he is gone. I truly do not understand how human life can have such little meaning to some people. He was only 24 yrs. old, the age of my youngest son. It makes me fearful of the kind of world my grandson will grow up in. Greg goes back to the office tomorrow after almost 2 weeks off - I am sure that the day will find many of you headed back into the working world. As there is still lots of snow on the streets where I live, I will be housebound until it melts or until the weekend when Greg is off again. He is already looking forward to 2 weeks from now when he has a 3 day weekend for MLK day. Stay safe, my friends....
Hi Cheryl & Greg, Glad to hear that you both are okay, and that your lives are returning to a somewhat normal status. This week our temperature is forcasted to hit "50", at this time of year normally, we would be in the teens or below. I can't figure it. Saw the shooting on tv last night, we have drive by shootings weekly in our Tri-City area, Albany/Schenectady/Troy New York, which is 18 to 25 miles south of us. All related to drugs and gangs. The local police seem powerless to do anything about the happenings. As my wife works for the State of New York in downtown Albany, I worry about her well being everyday. Just today, the bank in her building was robbed ten minutes before she and her friend go out for their walk at lunch time. It's a sick world ! She can't wait to retire, but has only fifteen years in, she needs twenty. God Bless, stay safe.
What is wrong in this world? They shot the Bronco player in Denver and shooting up NY, what is next? I think drugs are the number one problem today. Last year in Tampa someone shot and killed a man driving down I-75 on his way to work. The shooter has not been found yet and cops have no information on this case. Some people are wild at times.
If we can't stop gang violence here how are we to ever stop terroists with guns and bombs on their backs! Kate
John, about 2 yrs. ago, that happened here too. A father of 5 was driving to work (night shift) on the Boulder Turnpike and someone shot and killed him. His car hit the concrete retainer wall, which stopped it - thank God it didn't hit another car. He was slumped over the wheel and some people stopped and then called 911. The police never found who did it, but said they believe it was someone going in the opposite direction. I truly wonder if they realize that they are devastating the lives of untold numbers of people forever with each act of violence. Maybe they do, but they just do not care. I remember when I was a kid, we could stay outside running around the neighborhood until after dark, and not be worried about being abducted or molested. The world surely has changed over the years.
As long as this country has a legal system that provides more protections to the criminal than it does to the victim, we will have continuing violence. As long as we tie the hands of our police with ridiculous procedures and rules that benefit the slimebags, we will have criminals flaunting the system. As long as we have a system whereby a 20 year sentence really means four years in jail, we will have repeat violators. As long as a murderer who commits a heinous crime gets fed and clothed by the state for twenty to twenty-five years before being punished, we will have escalating crime. As long as America has judges that go "soft" on the sleazeballs in the guise of being "fair," we will have lawlessness. I look to some of the Asian countries as good examples of the way it should be. For instance, in some Pacific rim countries, possession of illegal drugs is an automatic and immediate death sentence; they have very, very few people carrying illegal drugs, and no repeat offenders. In some Arab countries, punishment for stealing is to cut off the hand of the offender and, while I think this is unduly harsh, it does work since they have very, very low theft rates and, after two times, the thief never steals again. I know my views are not politically correct, but I could care less. For those people who believe in coddling criminals, or tying the hands of the police, I say to you: I just hope your son or daughter or mother or father or wife never run into some of the human garbage you protect.
Beastdriver, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I think our judicial system is too soft and weighs heavily on the side of the criminal and not the victim. Greg says we should go back to the Biblical method of once they were found guilty, they were turned over to the victim's family to do whatever they saw fit with. I heard on the news this morning that the police now have the license number of the vehicle which the fatal shot to Darrent Williams was fired from and they are looking for one certain individual, did not release his name but it sounds like they have good leads. I pray that whoever did this is caught and brought to justice. Of course, as you noted, justice can sometimes be a slap on the wrist. The ACLU or Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton will probably be campaigning for leniency for the shooter - yeah, I know that will probably tick some of you off, but it is how I feel.
I was just watching the news and they are reporting that the vehicle they are looking for in the murder of the Bronco player, belongs to a known Crips gang member. He is actually in jail, so could not have been driving it. He tried to kill a woman last year, shooting her, but she survived and was just weeks away from testifying against him when she was shot and killed about a month ago. It is believed that there was an incident in the nightclub the night Darrent Williams was killed that may have been gang related and he tried to step in and be a peace maker.
I also agree with Beastdriver on ways to take care of the hard criminals. The US needs to look at China. You mess up only "one time" with drugs, kill someone, or do some big criminal. You go to jail and stay put, you have your day in court and if you are found guilt you are shot that day, end of your life, no 20 years in prison to see if you can get off the hook. If you do some small crime then you get 25-30 years in hard labor camp to think about what you did wrong and no time off, you do all your time before you get out. China has 1.6 billion people and you feel safe anyplace you go. Crime is not a big problem in China. All the people in the USA would fit in and around Shanghai. The no hands trick also works very well. We need better ways to deal with crime here in the USA.
