On Trolls

It is funny the things you learn while reading political blogs.  The internet is really a reflection of the humanity in us.  In life we cluster with those of similar interests, and we really don't want to hear disagreeable opinions.

Conservative bloggers, when on point, write about the evil of large government interference and cost; when not, they are calling the liberals names.

Liberal bloggers, when they are on point, write about the virtue of a social structure where all our needs are addressed and how much better we are with large government; when not, they too revert to ugly name calling.  (see Why are Political Commentators so Mean?)

Something I should have understood long ago was political bloggers aren't writing to engage in active debate, they are just transmitting and anything that interferes with their transmission must be destroyed.

One blog I read had this link defining what a troll is, and even categorizes them. Defining Trolls  They assume the opposition has an army of these trolls just waiting to disrupt the free exchange of ideas by interjecting opposing or subversive threads into the conversation.

Political bloggers are the 21st century equivalent of the town criers who would stand on the corner yelling the news of the day, not seeking truth, simply yelling what they are told to, just to a wider town.  Political bloggers now educate themselves to identify and remove the offending comments before they do untold damage to the blog.

I suspect I am a bit trollish, I will occasionally interject a comment when I see something I disagree with, at least now I know why they aren't published.

Ten Reasons Why Life Like Baseball?

1.  Most of the time you're just standing around
2.  To be successful you need to work well with others
3.  Occasionally you need to take risks
4.  If you always swing for the fences you will miss more than you hit
5.  Sometimes you need to sacrifice yourself for the greater good
6.  If you get knocked down you have to get back up and move on
7.  Each game you play is different than the last one
8.  You can't win if you don't play
9.  You've got to believe in yourself each time you are up to bat
10. Life throws you a lot of curves, if you can't hit them you won't succeed

A Birthday Ballon - Remembered

I came home this evening and my fourteen week old birthday ballon was not in its usual place.  It had wandered off to another room.  I think this is akin to what pets do when they are not feeling well.  They go to find a quiet dark place to rest and perhaps die.  

I tracked him down and brought him back, he showed signs of regaining his old self, but you could tell he just didn't have the helium he once had.  I couldn't stand to see him, a shadow of his former self, just hanging there and waiting for the inevitable leak that will mark the end.


So like a good friend I did the only human (I did mean this word and did not misspell humane) thing I could do.  I took him out to the trash to await the truck in the morning.  He will have one last taste of freedom as he is dumped into the compactor, but then he will become one with earth.


14 weeks and one day... how quickly helium passes.


An Update:  Today when the trash man came the balloon made its break for freedom and headed off into the sky seeking its freedom.

Life of a Balloon, Update 5

What are you looking at?

Well, here we are in week 14!  My birthday ballon has wandered off to the far corner of the room, no doubt in search of solitude, or perhaps seeking a better view out the window.  I am thinking we are approaching world record balloon age here.  Perhaps the stuff of legend in the world of helium filled balloons, or maybe the sign of our impending doom.  The first of a new generation of helium balloons that will rise up and take over the world.  Maybe he is just floating around waiting for the Red Sox to actually beat someone?

Tonight should be a great night.  The Boston Red Sox can't lose, they've been rained out.

In Tribute to the 8th AF

Near Savanna Georgia, along interstate 95 is a museum dedicated to the 8th Air Force, the men who carried the air war to Germany in WWII.  I don't think any of us today can appreciate the sacrifices these men made, flying missions with a 10 to 15% chance of being shot down.

They crew's where required to fly 25 missions before they would be rotated home.  In the early years of 1942 to 1944 very few crews made it to that magical number.

This was the organization made famous in the movie 12 O'Clock High, starring Gregory Peck, as well as a slew of others like The War Lover, starring Steve McQueen.

Just outside the museum is a memorial garden dedicated to the men and organizations of the 8th.  There is a replica of a typical English church these men would have seen outside their bases.  The church has some remarkable stained glass windows I would like to share.

Inside the museum is some fine artwork, reflecting the times they were in, as well as aircraft, in various stages of restoration, they flew.

A Navigator in his office

I have a very hard time understanding the scope of this force and when I see the information on where they were located I am stuck by the sheer magnitude of our effort.  US Army Air Forces Air Fields in East England.  

For what it is worth if you look at the map I was stationed at base #1  RAF Alconbury, just 50 years after the men who made the real sacrifices.

Just Another Day

It is pretty funny to read the blogs from the left and the right about how well this whole government shutdown threat has worked out.  Republican's got some concessions, the Democrat's look to keep funding for PP and NPR alive, and the President got to keep the Washington monument open for Denver school children.  Everybody wins! Well, kind of.  What you won't hear is how much federal funding we wasted preparing for the furloughs, and closing of select federal offices.

Just a couple of observations, if I might.  In 1995, when the Republican's allowed the government to shut down the President was nearing reelection.  He gained a tremendous boost in the polls, but he learned from the event and, at least with regard to the budget, cooperation between the legislature and the executive moved toward the center and by the end we had a balanced budget.

Does anyone really think this President and this Congress will learn that same lesson?  When the Presidents speech to the nation about the resolution of the problem is more campaign speech than anything else I am thinking we won't.

My Position (Part 4) Authority

Okay, so what have we covered so far, and what is my position?  First why are we here?  I think each must decide why we are here, but for me – I am a life created by God to be a part of this world and this humanity.  I have value, I have purpose and my life has meaning to both myself and to others who I affect.  When did my life start?  I believe it started at conception when an egg was fertilized and an embryo was created. If I were to die will the world go on without me?  Absolutely it will, but for some there would be a void.

So where does this leave us?  I have written, perhaps well, perhaps poorly, on what I believe to be foundation questions on the purpose of life and some concepts we need to consider in the discussion of life.  Now lets talk about who has the right to end life and where that authority comes from.

Starting with the issue of authority, I think there are only two possible answers.  Someone has either a legal authority or a moral authority to do, or not do, something.  The legal concept is quite clear and relatively simple to understand in concept, but as lawyers can point out we make it extremely complex in practice.  The state conveys on each of us a degree of legal authority to end life.  Each government is a little bit different but each holds the belief they have the ultimate right to govern the decisions of their population.  Some governments choose to not exercise the right to put people to death, but they fundamentally believe it is the states decision on this.

So what do I mean the state grants us the legal authority to end life?  I think this is easily explained in a simple illustration.  It is the middle of the night; you are awakened when a prowler enters your house.  In the dim light you see he or she is armed and when confronted threatens you.  You struggle and you kill the intruder.  Will you be prosecuted for murder?  Perhaps you will, but in all likelihood I think not.  You were protecting yourself, and the right of self-defense, especially in a home invasion, is viewed in most states as a justifiable use of deadly force.

Doctors have the authority to end life under certain circumstances and again this right is codified in the statutes.  In Roe v Wade the Court clearly vests the physician with the decision authority to terminate the life of the fetus, at least through the first trimester.  In today’s debate on pro-life and pro-choice it is always argued it is a woman’s right to choose, but in the landmark opinion the Justices never state it to be a woman’s right.  That has like most things been altered to suit the liberal agenda.

“(a) For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgment of the pregnant woman's attending physician.”

So technically women in the United States don’t have a right to terminate a pregnancy, they only have a right to find a doctor who is willing to kill the fetus, and convince him of a medical need.  It is the doctor who has the authority to determine it is in the woman’s best interest.  Interestingly, convincing will usually involve little or no real consultation on the woman’s medical history.

What about moral authority?  What is it and who has the moral authority to end life? USLegal tells us moral authority is a philosophical concept that forms the basis for our government and our laws.  The other common definitions refer to the legitimacy of individuals who through their acts or their lives reflect back to us how we should live.

If we look at the life of Mother Teresa we see someone dedicated to the service of the poor.  She reflects what is good in us and as a result has great moral authority.  Billy Graham is another good example, a man committed to his religion and bringing people to God, he was respected, beloved, and I think would have great moral authority.   Gandhi, a man of peaceful resistance, committed to improving the lives of his people and securing for them the freedom from England,  his life shows us what we can be and as a result he had the moral authority to free a nation.

Perhaps it is my lack of research, or  my simple understanding, but I’ve not come across anyone who I believe has the moral authority suggesting the taking of  an innocent life is a good thing.