Land of the Free, But Not for the Brave

Contrary to popular opinion abroad, America remains to be a very conservative society. While the state values and upholds each of its citizen’s right to freely express himself or herself, this right has been deemed to be not absolute.

Take for example the right to stage a protest. Everybody has a right to go to the streets and profess his dismay over the way things are going or being done in government. However, the protest should be done in an orderly manner. In some cases, permits would have to be secured from the local government concerned.

Not everybody is aware of the limitations, though. Indeed, the qualifications or exceptions to the rule are mostly lodged in the federal and local statute books and not in the Constitution. Some can be found in the decisions promulgated by the courts.

I’m not a lawyer, but I think it’s safe to say that the exceptions to the freedom of speech, of the press, and of choice refer to cases or instances wherein the rights or lives of others might be harmed or disrupted. If this is the exception that the law contemplates, then I’m all for it. The exercise of a constitutional right should not result in the violation of another.

This opinion or stand of mine has recently been tested or questioned by an incident in Largo City where government officials are contemplating on firing their city manager due to the latter’s plan of undergoing a sex change.

I’m a Catholic, and I’m fully aware of the Church’s stand on gender change. However, I’m of the opinion that it’s every citizen’s right to choose how he should take care of his body. If persons are allowed to undergo surgery for certain bodily enhancements without employment repercussions, then how come Largo City manager Steve Stanton has been threatened to be fired if he pushes through with his intention of undergoing a gender change? I think the city council overreacted on Stanton’s revelation. They should heavily consider his sterling track record as a city manager before they make a decision.

Taking Its Part

It’s comforting to know that the government is continuously looking for ways by which court and criminal records can be easily and systematically accessed.

Many have harbored fears that the proliferation of online court record-retrieval services may have given the government an excuse to leave this need to the private sector. I was therefore elated when I chanced upon a very useful and important project by the Department of Justice on their Web site.

The National Criminal History Improvement Program is not actually new. In fact, this undertaking started more than a decade ago. It aims to ensure the availability of various public records, especially criminal and court files, to the police and other government agencies. This removes the unnecessary impediments that hamper inter-agency coordination as far as accessing and sharing their registries or databases are concerned.

I’ve heard of projects that have been prematurely abandoned due to lack of funding or interest. I’m glad that the government is continuously working on the program despite the fact that it has already accomplished much.

Goodbye Michael, Hello Kobe!

I told you he is the heir-apparent.

Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, five rebounds, six assists, and six steals to lift the West past the east in the recently concluded NBA All Star Games.

I’ve been a Laker fan since my grade school days, and I’m always very happy when a member of my favorite ball club garners one of the individual awards that are regularly given by the league.

Bryant is undeniably the best player in the NBA today. Many consider him as the successor of Michael Jordan. He’s turning out to be a very good role model, too. However, there are still some who doubt if he could be a good ambassador of the league and of the game.

Bryant has been charged with sexual assault. I already forgot the details of the case. Maybe I’ll try to check the court record for its status. I’ll write about charge after I’ve verified the file.

Feeling Blue

My friends and I got together a few nights ago for some beer and nachos at a nearby restaurant. What was supposed to be a 2-hour dinner turned into a 5-hour thought-provoking gathering that tested the patience of the establishment’s proprietor.

So what was the topic of our “thought-provoking” conversation last Friday? I can’t exactly remember. I already exceeded my booze limit by the 3rd hour. I guess the subject was not that worthwhile after all.

Wait. I remember one. Fred told us about a news article that he had read a few months ago. He was quite serious when he narrated it to us. It was about a man in Spain who robbed a Pharmacy of all its Viagra. Although the story was not that hilarious, we had a hearty laugh at the way Fred delivered it.

Surprisingly, the robber returned later that day and brought with him two bouquets of roses. Apparently the famous blue pill worked and the robber was just showing his gratitude.

What’s with Spanish men and their machismo. I bet that man hasn’t committed any crime in his entire life until that fateful day. From the way Fred described him, I’m sure you won’t even find a single court record wherein he is the defendant. Poor guy. But then again, lucky him :)