Sometimes privacy IS less important

Police in Toronto have begun to release photos related to a case of sexual abuse of a young girl. She was used for pornographic pictures, and the police had no more clues to follow. It didn't take long for a number of people to recognize a Walt Disney World hotel in Florida, and now they are releasing a photo of a young girl who was not abused, but is sitting on a couch apparently used for the other photos. I hope they find the girl and her abuser, and I applaud the police for this bold step. I do not want my personal information and image, or those of my family, published far and wide for anyone, but if it were my daughter, I might allow her picture to be shown. How many other girls might be saved if my daughter's picture led to the capture of a sexual predator? I would have to consider it if I were in that position.

I am not saying the parents of this little girl should release her picture, only that they should consider it. And I would not blame them one bit if they didn't. Releasing it could have serious repercussions for them, and especially for her. It's not an action to be taken lightly, if at all.

In this world of ever-present information on ourselves and others, I hope we can always recognize that there is a time when privacy comes second - and I hope lawmakers will know and understand that it is up to the individual to decide when that time is.

So you call yourself Catholic

It amazes me that so many U.S. Catholics feel that they can disagree with the Pope on just about everything, and still be Catholic. I was raised Catholic, and I know that the Popes rarely issues infallible decrees - but come on people! If you don't want to follow the Pope's less than infallible decrees, become Presbyterian (Anglican for our friends in Great Britain). It's Pope free Catholicism. If you really feel a need to have a Pope, you're sort of stuck with Papal decrees. So decide how you really feel, and act on it. Don't just sit there and moan because you don't like the way the Church wants you to live your life.

Iraq, do any of us understand?

I was using my "Stumble Upon" extension for Firefox to find new and interesting sites to read and bookmark when I stumbled across http://bushflash.com, a decidedly anti-Bush site. Most of his problems with President Bush have to do with the war in Iraq. The problems he has are legit, for the most part, but he seems unwilling to look at any viewpoint other than his own.

Sure, Bush's cronies are taking full advantage of the profit opportunities brought out by the war, but one purpose of the war that is largely ignored by everyone (perhaps purposely) is the need to keep terrorists out of the country. In that goal, the Iraqi war has been a huge success. Instead of terrorists planning the importation and detonation of a 'dirty bomb,' they are going to Iraq to push out the American soldiers. This is a rather cold blooded approach, since it guarantees you will lose soldiers and civilians and directs violence and mayhem away from
us to another country, but it has been effective so far.

Many things about this war are wrong, and I applaud sites like bushflash.com for keeping an eye on things. But we need to remember that there are also valid reasons to take war to Iraq. We have the option to join battle with terrorists on our turf or somebody elses. Self serving and cruel as it may sound, it is almost always better to fight on somebody elses turf. It focuses atention there instead of here.

And when it comes to terrorism, I would much rather they be there, if at all possible

The beginning

Not much to say in the beginning. I'll be posting random thoughts on random things, from computers to politics to religion to whatever.

One thing that's bothering me, though:

How can congress pass bankruptcy reform that does not allow expenses charged to you by identity thieves to be dismissed? Then two days later "congress turns attention to identity theft." Yeah, some attention. Leave your constituents roasting over a slow fire, then pretend to care by talking about the problem you chose to ignore. Show some balls - make the credit card companies tighten the requirements to get a credit card and show corporations that having Swiss cheese security guarding customers data will not be tolerated. Hold them liable for at least a portion of debt incurred due to identity theft made possible by lack-luster security. Let victims of identity theft at least be relieved of a significant (say at least 50%) portion of the debt the thief gifted them with.

Corporations are not part of our governmental system, or at least they're not supposed to be. Don't let them run the country, because what is best for them and what is best for the country is not necessarily the same.

Well, I guess I did have something to say after all.

Later