Welcome

Dear Friends:

I decided to start my own blog because I want to share my thoughts and feelings. I'll call my blog "Pearls"  with the hope that every entry will be a pearl of wisdom I can share with my readers. Maybe... just maybe... I learned something during the half century I've been on this planet.

I have several friends who blog. I like to think I've learned from their experiences. I'll share a little bit about what I've learned from them to help readers understand the rules I'd like to follow.

Modern Pharisee is a friend of mine. Modern Pharisee told me that, some time ago, a person using the screen name "TexasBluesMan" copied a photo of his stepdaughter on her My Space account and posted it at the TexasFLDS website. Then the people who frequent the TexasFLDS website posted derogatory comments about her.

I'm sure you'll agree that TexasBluesMan's behavior was rather childish and cruel. Modern Pharisee's stepdaughter was a college student. She had absolutely nothing to do with the FLDS. What right did the folks at the TexasFLDS site have to try to humiliate or embarass her? TexasBluesMan and his followers attacked an innocent young woman simply because her stepfather had a blog in which he expressed an opinion that differed from theirs. It was a despicable thing to do. 

Modern Pharisee flew into a rage when he saw what TexasBluesMan had done. I don't blame him. I would have been outraged if someone tried to hurt my children like that too. Modern Pharisee and several of his friends used TexasBluesMan's IP address to identify him. When they identified him, they also learned his place of  employment. Modern Pharisee made a few phone calls to TexasBluesMan's superiors and told them what TBM had done.

My friend, Bill Medvecky, also wrote a letter of complaint to the employer.

To make a long story short, the person whom Modern Pharisee identified as TexasBluesMan got fired.

The person whom Modern Pharisee identified as TexasBluesMan got angry. After all, he lost his job. He hired an attorney named Natalie Malonis to file a lawsuit against Modern Pharisee and those who helped to out him. Seeking monetary damages, they claimed that Modern Pharisee had incorrectly identified him as TexasBluesMan. He and Ms.Malonis obtained a restraining order to bar Modern Pharisee and several other bloggers from writing about him.

A few months later, a judge in Texas dismissed the lawsuit for lack of prosescution. I was thrilled for Modern Pharisee and his stepdaughter.

The moral of the story is to be kind. I don't want to get into a nasty dispute with anyone. If you disagree with me, let's try to be civil toward each other. Don't attack my children, and I won't attack yours. I won't out you if you don't out me. Let's be kind.