Thanks extended to the "Money Mike" jury

I should have more faith in our local juries.  I should have more faith in our local society, but at times its collective wisdom gets drowned out by distorted national commercial news media rhetoric that seeks to elevate victimhood into something akin to sainthood.

I was afraid that the jury would screw up the "Money Mike" trial process, but in my opinion, they got it right by correctly weighting and apportioning responsibility.  I was pleased to see the verdict  but I was especially pleased to see the corresponding jury recommendation in this high-profile local prostitution / sexual assault case that involved a number of girls from my daughter's high school and thus was of particular interest to our family.

According to local media reports, the defendant was found guilty because the evidence indicated he was guilty, but the jury recommended probation rather than incarceration - a light sentence relative to what was possible under the law.

While it is literally true that a minor cannot legally consent to sex and that the girls in this case appear to have been genuinely assaulted, it is also true that personal responsibility does not spontaneously tumble from the sky in totality on the occasion of a girl's 17th or 18th birthday.  Instead, it is acquired gradually as maturity is developed. And any 16-year-old female (or even a 14-year-old female) being raised in our society should bloody well already understand the fundamentals of right and wrong.

Quoth the Chron report, "A female juror who refused to give her name said, "We felt [the defendant who paid for underage sex] did have some involvement, but at the same time we felt like the girls were responsible."" She's damned right they were. And if this trial had gone the wrong way and the commercial news media had gotten traction sufficient to sensationalize this incident into yet another boilerplate case of hapless females getting victimized through zero fault of their own, it would only have served to further infantilize young women at a time in our social evolution where the process of victimhood-claiming is embraced with an almost religious fervor. This jury has sent a strong message to all of our local young and middle teens that they will be held appropriately responsible for their behavior and their decisions, and I'm very thankful for that. Because if they aren't taught to accept personal responsibility now, they sure as hell won't be demonstrating it a few years from now when they enter early adulthood.

I personally thank the jury for its service.  A job well done.

But the flip side of that coin is that real girls don't sell themselves, particularly when they are old enough to know better, and particularly when they are financially secure enough not to need to resort to that kind of activity.   

League City Public Safety Building grand opening

I was surprised this morning to find no press coverage of yesterday's League City Public Safety Building grand opening.  It was well-publicized in advance.  From the portion that I saw, the event was well-done and well-attended.

I was out and about doing chores yesterday, but I stopped to see the doggies.  

The K-9 demonstrations, in other words.  

Go, doggie, go!!  And I thought MY dog could run fast - this girl had some amazing physical capacity.  I learned a few things about how K-9's are trained and utilized.  Wish I'd brought my better camera.  

Anyway, the dearth of coverage is a bit perplexing to me at a time when all of America has been fixated on the relationship between law enforcement and the public, with the recent internationally-reported incidents in Ferguson Missouri, New York City, and other locations.  Locally, we have also experienced analogous incidents, including the officer-involved shootings in Texas City and Freeport, the latter of which has taken some perplexing turns as the victim is now apparently attempting to recant her initial strong and consistent statements.

So then what happens??  LCPD actually takes the time to do some interesting and positive public outreach, and I don't see a peep about it in the press.  If it doesn't bleed, it doesn't lead?  

Cartoon screengrabbed from this other Blogspot site but presumably copyrighted by the original maker.  My public commentary is non-monetized so I believe this is fair use.  

Rats on the rise

Happy New Year, and may your resolutions include a solemn vow never to leave pet food outdoors (if you are a regular reader, you've heard me say this before, here and here and here).  We continue to have what I interpret to be a growing rat problem in the subdivision.  They seem to be growing in audacity now, instead of just in numbers.

Bear in mind that the rat he found was probably dead because it was poisoned.  So now the dog is chewing the poison.  

Not only can poisoned rat carcasses pose a risk to pets, but rats that have lost their fear of humans pose a risk of disease and injury to humans (especially children who may be curious about them and who may not have developed the sense to stay away from them).  And when found in abundance in subdivisions, they can also attract poisonous snakes such as water moccasins into peoples' back yards.

We recently encountered one on our patio that was so bold that we had to kill it manually, which is not pleasant (they put up quite a fight and if you are not careful, they can attack you in retaliation for your raticidal efforts - it's their end strategy, and they can go for your face and neck with their razor sharp teeth).  I was simply trying to BBQ on our patio and the thing just would not leave me alone, so I had to call my husband for a coordinated kill.

If you've ever been to Central Park in New York City, you probably know just how bold these critters can become (watch this YouTube video called "Rat Attack" if you have any doubts).  Here is the Centerpointe rendition of that video.  Look how close I got to him with my cell phone (see the shadow of it).  I could have reached out and touched him, ugh.

Link:  Bold Rat in League City Suburb
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