Internet Anonymity: Who Is The Real Foe Lurking Out There?

I personally don’t care for people who make internet posts anonymously or hide behind an avatar. At the very least, it undermines their credibility. Whatever you say or believe, you should be able to stand up for it - As You Are; yelling it from the shadows is cowardly, wormy, spineless.

Many folks who use this tactic are internet trolls whose primary reason for being anonymous is to maliciously disrupt conversations using personal attacks or to take the conversation off topic. It’s more than annoying; it’s destructive, cowardly, childish and often cruel.

This despicable behavior, in my opinion, is the product of a society where perpetual adolescence is held in high esteem.

Nevertheless, it’s repugnant to make it illegal.

SF Examiner "Coit" Title Needs Examination

Am I the only one who finds this headline crass? Probably. And, that is a problem.

The story has nothing to do with the well know and highly flawed birth control method. It’s a story about a delay in getting a food vendor licensed at the well known San Francisco landmark, Coit Tower.

But, I get it. Oh yes, the Coit Tower has a phallic shape. But, so does the handle of my toilet plunger.  

Without putting much thinking into it, I can think of several other titles that would not be as shameful and just as cutesy. How about:

“Coit Cuisine Crashes”

“Coit Tower Starving?”

“Coit Chowless”

“Chowless Coit,”

“Chow Cut at Coit”

The title, while eye catching, is unnecessary.

Cheap headlines like this only seem to cheapen the story, our minds, and our bodies. Garbage in, garbage out. Perhaps the Examiner is impregnated with the seductive embrace of convention whereby we all go around coarsening our culture at every turn.  

We don’t’ have to be infected by the same coarseness.

Columbia 7 Remembered

10 years ago today, the space shuttle Columbia STS-107 broke apart on re-entry. All 7 astronauts were killed.

In memory of 7 very brave souls, the Columbia 7. God Bless:

Rick D. Husband – Mission Commander

William C. McCool – Pilot

Kalpana Chawla - Mission Specialist

Laurel B. Clark - Mission Specialist

Ilan Ramon - Payload Specialist

Michael P. Anderson - Payload Commander

David M. Brown - Mission Specialist

"The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home."

 President George W. Bush Feb. 1, 2003

Sandy Hook Parent Says Guns Are Not The Problem

Mark Mattioli, father of six year old James who was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School surprises a few at a hearing on gun violence.

Getting Ourselves Off The Hook Q&A

In this piece, I will attempt to address questions, concerns, and statements made by individuals who voiced objection to the Sandy Hook essays and/or other remarks I have made regarding 2^nd amendment rights and the debate over the ban on “so called” assault weapons.

I have elected not to mention names out of respect for their privacy, even though I do not hide my identity.

I some instances I was forced to extract a question from comment(s), a somewhat subjective process. However, I tried to use the exact language used by the poster whenever possible.  As more questions come in, I will add them to this post.

Remove Lansdowne From Office

This neo-Marxist Police Chief is no surprise.  He should be removed from office for violating his oath.

I know his type well. Schooled in the late 60’s, made his way up the ranks kowtowing to liberal agenda for his own self serving interests. He’s no cops cop I can tell you that.

He claims that all weapons will be removed from individual ownership in one generation.

 

Chief William Lansdowne San Diego PD.

Flight of the Challenger: The Challenger 7 Remembered

This is one of those, “Do you remember what you were doing when this happened” moments. I was off this day. I got up, took a shower, and was putting my shoes on at the end of the bed when I turned on the TV. I had errands to run this day. Glued to the TV all day, I never accomplished any of them.

Do you remember what you were doing when you first learned?

I'm In!

I have been and always will be in "the game."

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. of Milwaukee, WI. 

"In the battle of life, it is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

We Are The Obama Nation

The teachings of Thomas Aquinas tell us that all men are created equal with regard to their God given right to be free. That is, we have the right to live freely; free to seek what is good for us. We are even free to turn away from God.

However, he also notes that men are NOT equal with regard to their God given talents. Those talents vary from person to person; they are what make us individuals. Our talents are what we use to pursue what is good in our own unique way (hopefully in alignment with God’s will.) If we are tracking with God’s notion of the good, then this means serving others too in way that is concomitant with our talents.

Our nation’s founders knew this.  Our current President, Barack Hussein Obama does not.  Actually, I think he does. He just wants to turn his back on it for his own vision.

In his article, Obama’s Declaration of Collectivism, Larry Kudlow makes this distinction clear. We are not intended to be equal in terms of results, only in opportunity.

Obama’s notion of America is the absolute opposite of what our founders had in mind. I would also argue he runs in a direction that is counter to our nature as created by God.

I fear that we, as a nation, have made that Tytlerian turn from the Republic once known as the United States of America to the "Collective States of America." It will be a place where we will add our uniqueness to the collective.

And where eventually, resistance will be futile.

Our Rights, Our Government

In his blog post, David McElroy, echoes clearly what I stated in my posts Getting Ourselves Off the Hook. Our God given rights are not conferred on us by the government. They are intrinsic with our being. Any attempt to limit or take them is a threat to our dignity as human beings.

A must read.

Governments can recognize rights, but no government creates rights.

Good Grief Charlie Brown! Busted for Stalking?

The man who did the voice for Charlie Brown has been arrested for stalking. What’s next?

If we imagine Peanuts as real people, let me see if I can predict what might become of a few members of the Peanuts gang:

Serving The Law that Serves Us Best

When I think back on my career as a police officer, it was not uncommon to say or think, “I served the law.” While I knew there were reasons for the law, the phrase, “I serve the law,” never seemed problematic. I always knew I served the people and didn’t get too hung up on the phraseology.

Even outside the vocation of policing, we often think in those terms. We serve our boss, we serve our company, we serve our stockholders, we serve our nation, etc.

Heck, we even service our cars.

We say these things without too much thought; we sort of understand and believe its all good. I wonder, however, how often we consider what’s behind that service.

Getting Ourselves Off the Hook Pt 5

The Right Firearms and the Right to Self Defense

Go to the Introduction

Go to Part 2 The Common Good and the Dignity of the Human Being

Go to Part 3 The Militia. An Antiquated Term?

Go to Part 4 The Problem with Governments

Part 5 -Ignorance from Firearms

For those who know little about firearms, self-defense, and use of force dynamics, it’s easy to see the assault rifle as excessive; but, they are far from it. The term “assault rifle” itself is a misnomer in any case.

Getting Ourselves Off the Hook Pt 4

The Right Firearms and the Right to Self Defense

Go to the Introduction

Go to Part 2 The Common Good and the Dignity of the Human Being

Go to Part 3 The Militia. An Antiquated Term?

Part 4 -The Problem with Governments

We must be honest. Governments do go bad. In fact, our nation was born from this sad fact. We shouldn’t delude ourselves into thinking this can’t happen in the U.S.

The founders of our Republic were sending a message to future generations when they penned our nation’s founding documents.

This message is the clearest. I fear it has been clearly forgotten. For clarity’s sake, I will be clear here:

The history of man is MORE a story of governments gone bad than those that have not.

Getting Ourselves Off the Hook Pt 3

The Right Firearms and the Right to Self Defense

Go to the Introduction

Go to Part 2 The Common Good and the Dignity of the Human Being

Part 3 - The Militia. An Antiquated Term?

For the average American, it’s generally inconceivable to consider ourselves vulnerable to foreign invasion or attack. We think our military can never be defeated.

Think again. Historically speaking, no nation has ever been able to make that claim ex post facto. Although, many have certainly believed that pre facto. We are fools if we think we are an exception in this sense.

If our military was ever defeated, who will be left protect us from the horror and genocide that may follow?