After the mass killings in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado on July of 2012, an NRA (National Rifle Association) official was quoted as saying that the victims in that theater shooting would have been much safer had they been carrying weapons, too. The official suggested that the theater death toll would have been much lower had everybody in the auditorium been armed. I’m not sure how having more crossfire would have lessened the danger or saved lives in a darkened theater, but movies are famous for asking viewers to suspend their belief in reality, so I guess the NRA is entitled to that suspension, too.
I’m bringing up that subject because this past Monday, a retired police officer, Curtis Reeves, Jr. was attending a movie in Wesley Chapel, Florida when a guy seated in front of him was texting on his cell phone as previews for future movies were being shown. Reeves told the man to stop. When that didn’t work, Reeves complained to the theater personnel, who apparently didn’t resolve the problem. After a second encounter with the texting patron, Reeves shot and killed the man, and wounded the man’s wife, too.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “Hot heads with guns don’t mix!”
Adding more hotheads or guns to the equation won’t work either.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
THE BIEBER OMELETTE
Justin Bieber should be glad he lives in Calabasas, California instead of Callisburg, Texas. In Callisburg, the neighbors don’t call the cops when somebody is standing on their front lawn throwing eggs at their homes. Instead, they stick the barrel of their shotgun out a front window and wait for the coroner to cart off the egg thrower to the morgue. That’s called defending one’s castle, and in Texas it carries about the same weight as the Holy Bible.
I’m not sure why Bieber thought that egging his next door neighbor’s home was a neighborly thing to do; maybe it had something to do with the cocaine the police found in his residence yesterday morning. Whatever the case, I do know that he’s lucky he’s going to be sued for $20,000 in damages instead of his estate coughing up $20,000 for a funeral. Oh, I know…in Calabasas $20,000 doesn’t buy more than a pine box, but seriously, who’d want to show up at a funeral for a guy who traded his life for a few minute of egg tossing? I wouldn’t bother!
I’m not sure why Bieber thought that egging his next door neighbor’s home was a neighborly thing to do; maybe it had something to do with the cocaine the police found in his residence yesterday morning. Whatever the case, I do know that he’s lucky he’s going to be sued for $20,000 in damages instead of his estate coughing up $20,000 for a funeral. Oh, I know…in Calabasas $20,000 doesn’t buy more than a pine box, but seriously, who’d want to show up at a funeral for a guy who traded his life for a few minute of egg tossing? I wouldn’t bother!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
ANOTHER TAKE ON THE CHRISTIE BRIDGE SCANDAL
While nearly everybody is chirping about the political ramifications of the George Washington Bridge scandal hounding New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie and his administration, few are paying attention to the real problem. While the question of who ordered the bridge lane closures that caused a traffic disaster, and who knew what and when, are raging in the press and around Washington water coolers, a potentially catastrophic disaster is being largely ignored. I’m talking about the fact that the George Washington Bridge is structurally deficient. Yeah, repairs are currently being made, but maybe the lane closures were really a blessing in disguise. Only God knows for sure!
The George Washington Bridge is one of America’s oldest, yet busiest bridges. It’s also on the government’s list of structures requiring major upgrades in order to prevent a catastrophic bridge collapse from happening. Over two hundred thousand vehicles cross the George Washington Bridge every day, and if one day it collapses and leads to the deaths of thousands of people, politically-motivated lane closings will be the least of everybody’s problems.
The real scandal is the deteriorating state of our Nation’s bridges!
The George Washington Bridge is one of America’s oldest, yet busiest bridges. It’s also on the government’s list of structures requiring major upgrades in order to prevent a catastrophic bridge collapse from happening. Over two hundred thousand vehicles cross the George Washington Bridge every day, and if one day it collapses and leads to the deaths of thousands of people, politically-motivated lane closings will be the least of everybody’s problems.
The real scandal is the deteriorating state of our Nation’s bridges!
Monday, January 13, 2014
DESEAN JACKSON...MEET WILLIE SUTTON
Willie Sutton, the famed early 20th century bank robber was credited with explaining why he robbed banks with the following retort – “Because that’s where the money is!” Although Willie is credited with having stolen over two million dollars during his illustrious career as a bank robber, he also spent nearly half his life in jail. Accumulating a large amount of money doesn’t always equate with being smart.
Last week, the home of Philadelphia Eagle’s star wide receiver, DeSean Jackson was burglarized and whoever hit the Jackson residence walked away with jewelry, a handgun and over a quarter of a million dollars in cash. That’s right, a quarter of a million dollars in cash!
Who keeps a quarter of a million dollars in cash in their house? Well, apparently DeSean Jackson does. Hasn’t he heard there’s such a thing as a bank? I guess not!
Jackson earned $6.75 million dollars from the Philadelphia Eagles football team this past season, or $421,875 per game. That’s a nice chunk of change if you can find the work, but you’d think a guy pulling in that kind of money would have more sense than leaving a quarter of a million dollars laying round the house. That’s just begging for a guy like Willie Sutton to pay him a visit. In fact, somebody did.
Last week, the home of Philadelphia Eagle’s star wide receiver, DeSean Jackson was burglarized and whoever hit the Jackson residence walked away with jewelry, a handgun and over a quarter of a million dollars in cash. That’s right, a quarter of a million dollars in cash!
Who keeps a quarter of a million dollars in cash in their house? Well, apparently DeSean Jackson does. Hasn’t he heard there’s such a thing as a bank? I guess not!
Jackson earned $6.75 million dollars from the Philadelphia Eagles football team this past season, or $421,875 per game. That’s a nice chunk of change if you can find the work, but you’d think a guy pulling in that kind of money would have more sense than leaving a quarter of a million dollars laying round the house. That’s just begging for a guy like Willie Sutton to pay him a visit. In fact, somebody did.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
A THOUGHT OR TWO ON DEATH
In my 6th year at Saint Patrick’s Elementary School, I became an altar boy. It was a milestone in my Catholic school training. As an altar boy, I served at Masses, weddings and funerals by holding candles, crosses, Bibles, and on occasion, the water, wine and bread used to celebrate the Catholic Eucharistic Feast. Sometimes, I even got to ring bells at Mass. That was my favorite part of the job.
One morning, the Pastor of my church called our school principal and requested that I and one of my friends be excused from class, because the Pastor needed two altar boys to serve at a funeral that day. My friend and I were delighted to escape the confines of our classroom, even though it meant attending a somber funeral. After the funeral Mass was concluded, the attendees in the church loaded into cars and made their way in a funeral procession to the cemetery where the deceased was to be interred. My friend and I rode with the Pastor. On the way to the cemetery, he instructed us that our job was to stand on either side of him at the grave site holding candles. Our instructions were easy and I didn’t think there would be any problems at the grave site. Was I wrong!
In the midst of the graveside service, while the Pastor was reciting prayers next to the coffin, the wife of the deceased suddenly stood up and threw herself upon the coffin. She started pounding her fists on the metal box and began screaming.
“He’s alive! He’s alive! He’s calling to me! Open the coffin!” The widow wailed. “Open the coffin. He’s alive! He can’t breathe! My husband can’t breathe!”
The Pastor must have realized that I was on the very of cracking a smile, or worse – chuckling, and he shot me a glance that conveyed the warning that I might be dead if I did. I didn’t crack that day, but I’ve never forgotten that death has a way of affecting some people; and it’s next to impossible for some of them to let go of their loved ones.
The recent death of Jahi McMath is a case in point. The doctors have proclaimed the girl “brain dead,” because there is no brain activity occurring in the little girl’s body. The family, however, refuses to concede the 13 year old girl’s death, because the girl’s heart and lungs continue to function while connected to life support equipment. According to the medical community, when Jahi McMath is eventually removed from the life-support equipment, her heart and lungs will stop immediately.
I believe that Jahi McMath has died. Her brain ceased functioning weeks ago, and although our scientific equipment can keep her heart and lungs functioning, the essence of Jahi McMath no longer inhabits this Earth.
When I think of the McMath family I think of that screaming widow at the graveside service. She wanted to believe with all her heart that a miracle had occurred, but death was ultimately not denied its bounty. It’s the same with Jahi McMath. May Jahi rest with Peace…and may Peace be with her family, too.
One morning, the Pastor of my church called our school principal and requested that I and one of my friends be excused from class, because the Pastor needed two altar boys to serve at a funeral that day. My friend and I were delighted to escape the confines of our classroom, even though it meant attending a somber funeral. After the funeral Mass was concluded, the attendees in the church loaded into cars and made their way in a funeral procession to the cemetery where the deceased was to be interred. My friend and I rode with the Pastor. On the way to the cemetery, he instructed us that our job was to stand on either side of him at the grave site holding candles. Our instructions were easy and I didn’t think there would be any problems at the grave site. Was I wrong!
In the midst of the graveside service, while the Pastor was reciting prayers next to the coffin, the wife of the deceased suddenly stood up and threw herself upon the coffin. She started pounding her fists on the metal box and began screaming.
“He’s alive! He’s alive! He’s calling to me! Open the coffin!” The widow wailed. “Open the coffin. He’s alive! He can’t breathe! My husband can’t breathe!”
The Pastor must have realized that I was on the very of cracking a smile, or worse – chuckling, and he shot me a glance that conveyed the warning that I might be dead if I did. I didn’t crack that day, but I’ve never forgotten that death has a way of affecting some people; and it’s next to impossible for some of them to let go of their loved ones.
The recent death of Jahi McMath is a case in point. The doctors have proclaimed the girl “brain dead,” because there is no brain activity occurring in the little girl’s body. The family, however, refuses to concede the 13 year old girl’s death, because the girl’s heart and lungs continue to function while connected to life support equipment. According to the medical community, when Jahi McMath is eventually removed from the life-support equipment, her heart and lungs will stop immediately.
I believe that Jahi McMath has died. Her brain ceased functioning weeks ago, and although our scientific equipment can keep her heart and lungs functioning, the essence of Jahi McMath no longer inhabits this Earth.
When I think of the McMath family I think of that screaming widow at the graveside service. She wanted to believe with all her heart that a miracle had occurred, but death was ultimately not denied its bounty. It’s the same with Jahi McMath. May Jahi rest with Peace…and may Peace be with her family, too.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
WHEN IN ROME...
When in Rome, do as the Romans do! - St. Ambrose
In my freshman year in college, the first chapter of the Sociology 101 class textbook I bought contained a story about a researcher who went to an Eskimo village to study the natives and their culture. The leader of the Eskimo village hosted a dinner to celebrate the researcher’s arrival, and after the meal was concluded, the host offered his wife to have sex with the researcher as a welcoming present. The researcher was offended by the host’s offer and rejected the gift with outright scorn, which in turn caused the host to become so enraged that he killed the researcher on the spot. The point of that story, that the norms and mores of people from different cultures should be understood and respected, even if shocking or different from our own, was not lost on me. I can’t say the same for a couple of recent newsmakers.
Devyani Khobragade was a diplomat from India posted at the Indian Consulate in New York City. On December 12, 2013, she was arrested by federal authorities in New York and charges of visa fraud and making false statements were filed against her. According to the charging documents, when Khobragade attempted to get a visa for a woman in India that she wanted to bring to America to work as her housekeeper, she lied about the amount of money she was intending to pay the housekeeper and submitted a fabricated employment contract to federal authorities. Then, when the visa was issued and the housekeeper came to America, Khobragade forced the housekeeper to work 90 hours per week and paid her $2.00 per hour for that work.
After the federal authorities arrested Khobragade, she was strip-searched and subjected to a body-cavity search at a police station, despite her protestation that she was a diplomat from India with full diplomatic immunity. The officers also refused to contact the Indian mission to ascertain whether Khobragade had diplomatic status or not, as they were required by law and international treaty to do.
As the above-referenced events transpired, respect for the norms and values of others were thrown out the window.
Khobragade ignored the fact that here in the United States, we demand that workers be paid a minimum wage and take seriously statements made on official government documents. The norms of Indian society might be accepting of Khobragade’s actions given her high social status and important government position, but in America, a person’s position or social status is not a justification for her behavior. Just ask Martha Stewart.
Authorities here in America ignored Indian values, too. We may strip search our female prisoners and subject them to body-cavity probes, but Indians don’t, and they consider it an appalling affront to their Nation’s sense of dignity that we would subject one of their high-level female representatives to what they believe is barbaric treatment. Don’t forget, India is a land where rape victims are frequently ostracized in society, and being sexually violated carries an extra stigma. In Indian society, a claim of authority must also be treated with absolute respect, and for our officials to summarily dismiss Khobragade’s claim of a diplomatic status amounted to an insult of the highest order.
Why did these situations occur? The answer is simple. Both sides ignored the values and norms of the other parties involved. They did not treat the customs and mores of others with the respect those values deserved.
I remember our class discussion about the irate Eskimo and the disgusted researcher. Some students argued that perhaps the Eskimo and the researcher were simply ignorant about the other’s set of values. The Professor leaned toward both parties believing that their own values took precedence. He pointed out that it’s easy to elevate one’s own values over another when that person thinks they’re more important or entitled than the other person. I think that’s why respect for others is such a healthy thing to practice. Without it, bad stuff happens, and when the dust settles, nobody wins.
In my freshman year in college, the first chapter of the Sociology 101 class textbook I bought contained a story about a researcher who went to an Eskimo village to study the natives and their culture. The leader of the Eskimo village hosted a dinner to celebrate the researcher’s arrival, and after the meal was concluded, the host offered his wife to have sex with the researcher as a welcoming present. The researcher was offended by the host’s offer and rejected the gift with outright scorn, which in turn caused the host to become so enraged that he killed the researcher on the spot. The point of that story, that the norms and mores of people from different cultures should be understood and respected, even if shocking or different from our own, was not lost on me. I can’t say the same for a couple of recent newsmakers.
Devyani Khobragade was a diplomat from India posted at the Indian Consulate in New York City. On December 12, 2013, she was arrested by federal authorities in New York and charges of visa fraud and making false statements were filed against her. According to the charging documents, when Khobragade attempted to get a visa for a woman in India that she wanted to bring to America to work as her housekeeper, she lied about the amount of money she was intending to pay the housekeeper and submitted a fabricated employment contract to federal authorities. Then, when the visa was issued and the housekeeper came to America, Khobragade forced the housekeeper to work 90 hours per week and paid her $2.00 per hour for that work.
After the federal authorities arrested Khobragade, she was strip-searched and subjected to a body-cavity search at a police station, despite her protestation that she was a diplomat from India with full diplomatic immunity. The officers also refused to contact the Indian mission to ascertain whether Khobragade had diplomatic status or not, as they were required by law and international treaty to do.
As the above-referenced events transpired, respect for the norms and values of others were thrown out the window.
Khobragade ignored the fact that here in the United States, we demand that workers be paid a minimum wage and take seriously statements made on official government documents. The norms of Indian society might be accepting of Khobragade’s actions given her high social status and important government position, but in America, a person’s position or social status is not a justification for her behavior. Just ask Martha Stewart.
Authorities here in America ignored Indian values, too. We may strip search our female prisoners and subject them to body-cavity probes, but Indians don’t, and they consider it an appalling affront to their Nation’s sense of dignity that we would subject one of their high-level female representatives to what they believe is barbaric treatment. Don’t forget, India is a land where rape victims are frequently ostracized in society, and being sexually violated carries an extra stigma. In Indian society, a claim of authority must also be treated with absolute respect, and for our officials to summarily dismiss Khobragade’s claim of a diplomatic status amounted to an insult of the highest order.
Why did these situations occur? The answer is simple. Both sides ignored the values and norms of the other parties involved. They did not treat the customs and mores of others with the respect those values deserved.
I remember our class discussion about the irate Eskimo and the disgusted researcher. Some students argued that perhaps the Eskimo and the researcher were simply ignorant about the other’s set of values. The Professor leaned toward both parties believing that their own values took precedence. He pointed out that it’s easy to elevate one’s own values over another when that person thinks they’re more important or entitled than the other person. I think that’s why respect for others is such a healthy thing to practice. Without it, bad stuff happens, and when the dust settles, nobody wins.
Friday, January 10, 2014
A CHEAPER LEGISLATURE DOES NOT INSURE A BETTER ONE
Pennsylvania's House of Representatives recently passed a bill reducing the size of Pennsylvania’s legislature, but the state Senate hasn't taken up the measure yet so there's no guarantee it will pass in its current form. That's a good thing, because the House bill is akin to buying generic toilet paper. The money savings seems like a good idea when you’re in the supermarket checkout line, but when you’re done sitting on the toilet seat you suddenly recognize that cheaper doesn’t mean better. Plus, cheaper isn’t always cheaper in the long run, especially if you have to use up half a roll of the bargain brand to finish the job. You get my drift!
Reflecting the will of the people in the running of state government is supposed to be the job of the Pennsylvania legislature, and it would be worthwhile if that job could be accomplished with a minimum of taxpayer expense, but the simple act of reducing the size of our legislature without additional safeguards in place will not result in a better legislature – only a cheaper one.
The only way to insure our legislature is both cheaper and reflects the will of the people is to require all legislative districts, or as many as possible, to have equal numbers of voters from each major political party. That would result in far fewer safe legislative districts and significantly decrease the powers of fringe-based ideology that currently strangles government and prevents the true will of the people from being heard.
Ask yourself this question: Would you support a smaller legislature if it meant the political party you support would lose power and become a minority party? If your answer is yes, then I’m with you, but if your answer is no, then I have to assume that for you, reducing legislature size is really about preserving power, and not saving money or making government more reflective of the will of the people. Remember, cheaper doesn’t always mean better, and that applies to government, too.
Reflecting the will of the people in the running of state government is supposed to be the job of the Pennsylvania legislature, and it would be worthwhile if that job could be accomplished with a minimum of taxpayer expense, but the simple act of reducing the size of our legislature without additional safeguards in place will not result in a better legislature – only a cheaper one.
The only way to insure our legislature is both cheaper and reflects the will of the people is to require all legislative districts, or as many as possible, to have equal numbers of voters from each major political party. That would result in far fewer safe legislative districts and significantly decrease the powers of fringe-based ideology that currently strangles government and prevents the true will of the people from being heard.
Ask yourself this question: Would you support a smaller legislature if it meant the political party you support would lose power and become a minority party? If your answer is yes, then I’m with you, but if your answer is no, then I have to assume that for you, reducing legislature size is really about preserving power, and not saving money or making government more reflective of the will of the people. Remember, cheaper doesn’t always mean better, and that applies to government, too.
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