A papal lesson
Pope Francis continues to be a holy man with common sense.
Talking with reporters en route to the Philippines, he reflected on the violence in Paris and made it clear that killing "in the name of God" is wrong. But he also said it is wrong to "provoke" people by belittling their religion.
"One cannot make war (or) kill in the name of one's own religion," Francis said. "... To kill in the name of God is an aberration."
But even as he stressed that there was no justification for the killing of 17 people by reportedly Islamist extremists, the pontiff said freedom of expression and freedom of speech must have their limits.
"One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people's faith, one cannot make fun of faith," he said, adding that while everyone has not only the liberty, but also the obligation, "to say what he thinks to help the common good," human dignity should be respected.
If a friend "says a swear word against my mother, then a punch awaits him," Pope Francis said, gesturing with a pretend punch.
Vatican spokesman Thomas Rosica later told CNN the remark was "spoken colloquially," and the Pope wasn't advocating violence or in any way justifying the terror attacks.
Chairgate bows to secrecygate
"The Sunshine Law stinks. We should be able to talk," Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Beck said Wednesday as the commissioners finally talked publicly about their war of hushed words over what has been dubbed "Chairgate."
Greg was making a point that commissioners should be able to reach consensus on issues before they vote in public. Sadly, commissioners Warren Mackey and Sabrena Smedley agreed. The comment came as the panel voted to spend $85,000 to replace the 22-year-old chairs in county courtrooms.
But wait. Isn't the point of our election of you commissioners that we expect you to discuss the public's concerns and reach decisions with us watching? Isn't "transparency" one of those words you folks toss out like candy when you campaign?
Nothing in the Sunshine Law says you can't talk. You can talk. We -- and the law -- just expect you to include us in that talk. The law is in place to ensure that you and all County Commission and City Council elected officials cannot make decisions concerning public business in private, behind closed doors.
So, no, commissioner, the Sunshine Law -- and the transparency it is intended to elicit -- doesn't stink.
Secrecy in government is what stinks. And in your case, letting the sunshine in is the law.
But the commissioner did have one really good point that we're absolutely in agreement with. He said he would "take to task" anyone who disagreed with him (that the Sunshine Law stinks), "because it was put on us by people who don't even follow it themselves (members of the Tennessee General Assembly."
He's right. Sunshine should be the law for state legislators, too.
And UTC's rapegate
It's often said that an acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.
Corey Mock, the nationally ranked University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestler who was expelled for sexual misconduct in December, has enough problems to deal with as he returns to school amid growing campus anger over UTC changes to the campus' sexual misconduct policy called "yes means yes." Mock can come back to classes, but not to his team.
But now his father, C.D. Mock, is stirring up more fodder for campus women who already are highly incensed.
Mock, head coach of the wrestling program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is quite vocal about his opinions of his son's situation. In a blog post, he has written of the girl involved: "So why is she pushing this? ... We can only guess, but I am guessing she comes from a very religious family -- probably Catholic."
The elder Mock says the "yes means yes" standard is unreasonable: "But, to suggest that a girl who has had two drinks is incapable of saying "no" is ludicrous. Let's poll college girls to find the truth on this; not old, single hags who hate men and have nothing to do but lobby politicians."
Clearly, the elder Mock is not helping his son make any friends.