JUST SOME POSTS

I have purposely stayed away from this subject until now. I saw an article/post that was referenced on Facebook that made me so mad and upset that I had to address it. What I am talking about is what has become the most important event to happen since OJ and/or Rodney King - the Zimmerman trial and result. First a bit of background: our system of justice has a feature that is was not widespread around the world until fairly recently, and is not in a majority of countries now - the presumption of innocence. One can be charged with a crime and the authorities can have eye witnesses, photographic evidence, and even a confession. But, until the accused pleads guilty in court or is found guilty, they are referred to as the "alleged" perpetrator. The authorities/court is required to prove the person committed the crime. The problem with all the media attention these high profile cases get now is that the assumption of innocence is either solidified or destroyed by the time the t...

One of the biggest changes I have witnessed over the past forty years or so is the polarization of the population. Oh, I know that Democrats and Republicans, Tories and Whigs, vegetarians and carnivores, Beatles fans vs Stones fans, etc., have been at odds since the categorizations began; it is just that the divisions have become more and more broad. It is disturbing to me that any discourse and/or disagreement with the politically correct opinion is railed against and demeaned with increasingly loud voices. It is even more disturbing that the politically correct opinion appears to be a minority held position in a lot of cases. I realize that it is almost a cliche about how the "mainstream" media, aka the "old" media, is biased towards the liberal position; but I truly feel that these politically correct positions would not exist with any power if not for the artificial support from most of the media. (FYI, the cliche of the bias has been proven in many studies of n...

For no real reason I have watched a lot of action type shows and movies over the recent weeks. Although I do enjoy the format, particularly when done well (not often in my opinion), it is sometimes annoying how poor the "bad guys" are when it comes to defending themselves or fighting. I came up with some guidelines and advice for them: 1) First and foremost - would it hurt you to ASK if the guys (and girls) you are teaming up with have ever shot a gun! Most of you and your team are armed with automatic weapons and still couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!      2) (follow up to above) Ever think of a little PRACTICE - maybe go to a firing range once or twice? 3) Even though most of you don't shoot well; a gun still trumps a knife which usually trumps fists. Why, when facing the "good guy" (who is known to be the world's best hand to hand fighter or whatever) do you insist on dropping your weapons and fighting them? Shoot them already! 4) Your...

I have used this post for the four previous July 4th posts. I am using it again for two reasons - 1) I read it and I don't think I could improve upon it. Not that it is the best thing ever written. I just don't think I am capable of doing better and/or getting my point across. 2) I actually have had REQUESTS for it! (hey - more than 1 is plural) I am going to preface this a bit more. I read recently that a study and a couple of "man in the street" type interviews showed that a LOT of people here do not know the who, what, why, when, and/or where of July 4th. When asked what it is, the most common response was "Independence Day". When asked to elaborate, most could not. When pointedly asked who we attained independence from, a LOT did not know. The answers ranged from China to Germany and a lot in between. When asked when it occurred that also was missed by a majority. When you are having your gathering, cookout, picnic, or watching fireworks with frien...