The Vulture and California Jim

     I have a friend who calls himself the Vulture. He is a Christian Libertarian. Sometimes he writes about Warren Jeffs and the raid of the Yearning for Zion Ranch, but his blog is mostly about politics.

     The Vulture took the unpopular position that it is better to let Warren Jeffs go free than to compromise our Fourth Amendment rights regarding search and seizure laws. This did not set well with the folks at the Texas FLDS website who despise polygamy. The Vulture annoyed an antipolygamy activist who calls himself California Jim. California Jim just happens to be a friend of TexasBluesMan, whose lawsuit against Modern Pharisee, Bill Medvecky and others was recently dismisssed for lack of prosecution.

     A few weeks ago, California Jim started posting comments on the Vulture's blog. At first, I thought Jim was lonely and wanted to socialize with us. I'm open-minded. I'm willing to socialize with an antipolygamy activist if he's polite and civil to me. But California Jim's comments were full of antipolygamy rhetoric and were aimed at discrediting the Vulture. Jim couldn't resist defending his old buddy, TexasBluesMan.

     I asked the Vulture why he permitted Jimmy and other like-minded people to post comments on his blog. The Vulture explained to me that the folks at Texas FLDS website delete comments posted by people who don't share their views. They also delete comments posted by people they dislike. He said they had accused him of deleting comments on his blog, just as they delete comments on their site. The Vulture has higher principles. He allows California Jim to post comments on his blog to prove that Jim's pals at the Texas FLDS website are wrong.  

     At first, California Jim's arguments seemed to liven up the Vulture's blog. I'll be the first to admit that bickering with him was fun. After awhile, it got boring. California Jim seemed to take over the Vulture's blog. His comments dominated the conversation. They didn't seem to be on topic with the articles the Vulture had written. While I admire the Vulture for sticking to his principles, I feel that California Jim is taking advantage of the Vulture and using the Vulture's blog to promote his own antipolygamy agenda.

     I read the Vulture's blog because I want to read what the Vulture has to say. If I want to read what California Jim has to say, I'd go to the Texas FLDS website.

     When people with different opinions can discuss a subject in a civil manner, the conversation can be interesting. People with different opinions can learn from each other. Sometimes a thought-provoking debate  can be fun and entertaining. But personal attacks should be avoided. Arguing is counterproductive if the parties involved become rude and hostile to each other.

     So I can't promise that I won't delete a comment posted by someone who disagrees with me. I won't allow an opponent to dominate the converastion because this is my blog. I'll be honest. There are certain people I do not want to comment on my blog. If you don't like me, feel free to start your own blog.

     I can promise that I will try to be polite and courteous to my readers. I will also try to be civil to anyone who posts a comment. I will not make a blog entry if I'm angry. Keep thinking happy, positive thoughts!

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.