I just wanted to take a few moments, during my recovery of Santa's visit, to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Last evening, I attended a candlelight Christmas Eve church service at my church, First United Methodist Church of Avon Park (www.fumcap.org). I was blessed to have my mother, step-father, brother, and his partner attend with us. Pastor Gary performed an uplifting sermon about the birth of Jesus. He touched on how Mary must have felt on the inside during the turmoil that was surrounding her at the time of the birth. But how she knew that the child she was carrying was the Son of the Most High.
The church also presented a Living Nativity, which in all of my 35 years, was without a doubt the most inspiring Living Nativity that I have witnessed. Mary, Joseph, and the Shepperd were dressed in white, complete with white face paint. I cannot find the words to describe the scene but my mother was also awe inspired by the sight.
The highlight of the service for me was Reverend James Parker singing "O Holy Night". Reverend Parker has an amazing voice that filled the sanctuary beautifully. It was a spiritual night, to say the least.
So, as I get ready to enjoy some Christmas ham. If you have not already, please take a moment today and remember why we celebrate Christmas.
God Bless
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Who Throws a Shoe?
On Sunday, President Bush was holding a press conference in Iraq with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, when a journalist from the audience sprang to his feet and hurled a shoe at the President. Not just one shoe, but he threw the other at President Bush. As I sit here and watch replays of the video on Fox News, there is one glaringly disturbing thing that the video illustrates to me. Why was the reaction time of the Secret Service Agents in the room so delayed that a second shoe was allowed to be thrown?
Currently on Fox News, there is a Secret Service Expert making excuses for the delay. He is actually saying that egos may have come into play and that because the Secret Service may have viewed the event as a secure area. I am not a Secret Service Expert by any means, but I have been involved in some security training and self defense tactical training in my younger years. And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, had I been the man responsible for the security of an individual and that happened while I was on watch and my response been that delayed, I would have been "relieved of my contractual obligations" on the spot.
Now, hypothetically speaking, what if there had been some type of sharpened edge to the shoes? And President Bush had not been proficient at dodge ball. Let's not forget that a few years ago there was a man on a plane that had bombs built into his shoes. And due, mostly to his inability to light a lighter, he was unable to ignite the bomb and blow the plane up. So, shoe technology has grown over the years.
I am not making light of the situation, really I'm not. This is a serious breach in the protocol of the Secret Service and all agents involved in the issue should be brought in and reevaluated before President-elect Obama takes office. If you recall during the Presidential election, there were two men that were arrested for planning an attack to kill Mr. Obama. I told several friends after that incident, "The ones you have to worry about are the ones that aren't bragging about it to their drinking buddies." There are some very dangerous people out there in the world. And they are highly trained and sophisticated, believe me. The attacks in Mumbai are an example of how a few trained men with technology can cause havoc and take many innocent lives in the process.
A shoe is not a deadly weapon, but the human mind can be and has been.
Currently on Fox News, there is a Secret Service Expert making excuses for the delay. He is actually saying that egos may have come into play and that because the Secret Service may have viewed the event as a secure area. I am not a Secret Service Expert by any means, but I have been involved in some security training and self defense tactical training in my younger years. And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, had I been the man responsible for the security of an individual and that happened while I was on watch and my response been that delayed, I would have been "relieved of my contractual obligations" on the spot.
Now, hypothetically speaking, what if there had been some type of sharpened edge to the shoes? And President Bush had not been proficient at dodge ball. Let's not forget that a few years ago there was a man on a plane that had bombs built into his shoes. And due, mostly to his inability to light a lighter, he was unable to ignite the bomb and blow the plane up. So, shoe technology has grown over the years.
I am not making light of the situation, really I'm not. This is a serious breach in the protocol of the Secret Service and all agents involved in the issue should be brought in and reevaluated before President-elect Obama takes office. If you recall during the Presidential election, there were two men that were arrested for planning an attack to kill Mr. Obama. I told several friends after that incident, "The ones you have to worry about are the ones that aren't bragging about it to their drinking buddies." There are some very dangerous people out there in the world. And they are highly trained and sophisticated, believe me. The attacks in Mumbai are an example of how a few trained men with technology can cause havoc and take many innocent lives in the process.
A shoe is not a deadly weapon, but the human mind can be and has been.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Blogs and Forums...Are they Free Speech Zones?
Recently in my home county, one of the local papers had an interesting thread that was started on their online forum. Now, I will not divulge the name of the paper or the persons involved, but I will talk about the details as much as possible and will remain factual as to avoid any potential legal action against me or my family.
There was an accusation made of censorship lobbed against a former reporter for the paper. A thread began where, as usual, there were folks espousing without fact, and with a certain arrogance due to this being the internet. One person, whom is very well known in Highlands County, in fact some may say more infamous than famous, was accused of being a sexual predator by one of the persons posting on the thread. They even posted a link to an arrest record from the Highlands County Sheriff's Department that if they would have taken about 3 minutes, they could have looked up the Florida Statutes that were listed and found what the charges were. But they did not do that, they began a lengthy argument that eventually resulted in the threat of a lawsuit.
Now, I do not believe this to be an empty threat. And apparently neither did the individuals involved. There were public apologies made and all was forgiven. Now, I found this entire exchange very entertaining for several reasons. The largest reason being, three of the persons involved with posting the misleading statements have notoriously been abusive at times on the forum. However, when the shoe was placed on the other foot, they quickly folded like a deck of cards. They initially spouted claims of Freedom of Speech and that there was nothing that they had said that was incorrect.
This leads me to my question, are blogs and forums, such as the one you are ready, free speech zones? Short answer, no. I am responsible for every statement that I place on this blog. I try to be factual and make it very clear that I am simply stating my opinion. I would have no problem in printing a retraction or issuing an apology if it were determined that I had made misleading or untrue statements. But there are those that feel that the anonymity that the world wide web provides releaves them of the responsibility of existing in a realm of factual and responsible information and the reporting thereof.
I regularly utilize a plethora of different news sources, individuals, or my own personal experience. I normally do not use real names here, unless it is a news story where the person accused of a crime has already been identified. Now, I know that I am far from a reporter and in fact, I do not know how many people are actually reading this blog. But I strongly believe in being factual when possible and making it clear that I am expressing my opinion only.
This is not a free speech zone, it is simply my zone for speech. Besides, we have always been told, nothing worth having is ever free. Right?
There was an accusation made of censorship lobbed against a former reporter for the paper. A thread began where, as usual, there were folks espousing without fact, and with a certain arrogance due to this being the internet. One person, whom is very well known in Highlands County, in fact some may say more infamous than famous, was accused of being a sexual predator by one of the persons posting on the thread. They even posted a link to an arrest record from the Highlands County Sheriff's Department that if they would have taken about 3 minutes, they could have looked up the Florida Statutes that were listed and found what the charges were. But they did not do that, they began a lengthy argument that eventually resulted in the threat of a lawsuit.
Now, I do not believe this to be an empty threat. And apparently neither did the individuals involved. There were public apologies made and all was forgiven. Now, I found this entire exchange very entertaining for several reasons. The largest reason being, three of the persons involved with posting the misleading statements have notoriously been abusive at times on the forum. However, when the shoe was placed on the other foot, they quickly folded like a deck of cards. They initially spouted claims of Freedom of Speech and that there was nothing that they had said that was incorrect.
This leads me to my question, are blogs and forums, such as the one you are ready, free speech zones? Short answer, no. I am responsible for every statement that I place on this blog. I try to be factual and make it very clear that I am simply stating my opinion. I would have no problem in printing a retraction or issuing an apology if it were determined that I had made misleading or untrue statements. But there are those that feel that the anonymity that the world wide web provides releaves them of the responsibility of existing in a realm of factual and responsible information and the reporting thereof.
I regularly utilize a plethora of different news sources, individuals, or my own personal experience. I normally do not use real names here, unless it is a news story where the person accused of a crime has already been identified. Now, I know that I am far from a reporter and in fact, I do not know how many people are actually reading this blog. But I strongly believe in being factual when possible and making it clear that I am expressing my opinion only.
This is not a free speech zone, it is simply my zone for speech. Besides, we have always been told, nothing worth having is ever free. Right?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
A wave of corruption and fraud crackdowns
Just today, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Chief of Staff John Harris were arrested and accused of corruption charges. While the details of this event are still being revealed and the extent of the corruption investigation are not known at this time, this event is one of several recent fraud and corruption related news items over the last few months. The recent events can be best described as a crackdown on corruption and fraud in government.
Mr. Blagojevich, 51 and Mr. Harris, 46, have both been charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. Mr. Blagojevich is accused of attempting to solicit bribes for the Senate seat that was left vacant by the election of Barack Obama in November. As I write this, the main stream media is reporting that it does not appear as though President-elect Obama was involved in this issue in any way.
Of course, we all remember the drama surrounding the race for the Senate seat in Alaska that was held by Ted Stevens. For those of you who have forgotten, Senator Stevens was convicted on charges that he failed to report gifts that he had received from VECO Corporation. Senator Stevens lost his bid to return to the Senate to Mark Begich.
The misdeeds of the rich and powerful have even stretched into Highlands County with the recent arrest of Dan Andrews on counts of embezzlement, fraud, and theft. Mr. Andrews has his initial hearing on December 22.
Over the course of American history, there have been many people that hold a position of power that have fallen prey to the lure of easy money. The lengths at which some have and will go to protect their socio-economic status is astounding. The old adage that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" has never been more true than it is now.
I suppose that people who yearn for power and wealth have had to do things outside the moral fabric to get where they are. I am not naive enough to think that everyone in business and politics always play fair and do not break the rules. But the amusing part to me is always when they fall from grace and immediately become the victim. The image that pops into my head right now is that of a teary eyed, sobbing Jimmy Swaggert as he reveals that he has succumbed to the sins of the flesh.
"I have sinned against you," he says. No, Mr. Swaggert you have sinned against your morals and your God. But He will forgive you, He always will forgive. I firmly believe that a man of God should not be placed on higher moral ground than a "regular" man. Everyone is human, even men and women of the cloth.
So why, I ask, do we place our spiritual and government leaders on a higher moral ground? Why do we want to believe that they are incapable of committing the same crimes and sins that the average person can commit?
Because we want them to be better than us. I do not mean that in a negative way. Each of us feel that a person in a position of power should be able to withstand all temptation and make the correct ethical, moral, and financial decision every time without a misstep. Of course, deep down inside, we all know that it is impossible. And that is where our own sins come into play.
There are many in society that enjoy watching the mighty fall from grace or power. It reaffirms the belief that we are all human and we all make mistakes. So why do we bang the drum when they make the mistakes and then laugh when they fall? Because we to are human.
Mr. Blagojevich, 51 and Mr. Harris, 46, have both been charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. Mr. Blagojevich is accused of attempting to solicit bribes for the Senate seat that was left vacant by the election of Barack Obama in November. As I write this, the main stream media is reporting that it does not appear as though President-elect Obama was involved in this issue in any way.
Of course, we all remember the drama surrounding the race for the Senate seat in Alaska that was held by Ted Stevens. For those of you who have forgotten, Senator Stevens was convicted on charges that he failed to report gifts that he had received from VECO Corporation. Senator Stevens lost his bid to return to the Senate to Mark Begich.
The misdeeds of the rich and powerful have even stretched into Highlands County with the recent arrest of Dan Andrews on counts of embezzlement, fraud, and theft. Mr. Andrews has his initial hearing on December 22.
Over the course of American history, there have been many people that hold a position of power that have fallen prey to the lure of easy money. The lengths at which some have and will go to protect their socio-economic status is astounding. The old adage that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" has never been more true than it is now.
I suppose that people who yearn for power and wealth have had to do things outside the moral fabric to get where they are. I am not naive enough to think that everyone in business and politics always play fair and do not break the rules. But the amusing part to me is always when they fall from grace and immediately become the victim. The image that pops into my head right now is that of a teary eyed, sobbing Jimmy Swaggert as he reveals that he has succumbed to the sins of the flesh.
"I have sinned against you," he says. No, Mr. Swaggert you have sinned against your morals and your God. But He will forgive you, He always will forgive. I firmly believe that a man of God should not be placed on higher moral ground than a "regular" man. Everyone is human, even men and women of the cloth.
So why, I ask, do we place our spiritual and government leaders on a higher moral ground? Why do we want to believe that they are incapable of committing the same crimes and sins that the average person can commit?
Because we want them to be better than us. I do not mean that in a negative way. Each of us feel that a person in a position of power should be able to withstand all temptation and make the correct ethical, moral, and financial decision every time without a misstep. Of course, deep down inside, we all know that it is impossible. And that is where our own sins come into play.
There are many in society that enjoy watching the mighty fall from grace or power. It reaffirms the belief that we are all human and we all make mistakes. So why do we bang the drum when they make the mistakes and then laugh when they fall? Because we to are human.
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