Free Republic

So true. They want to “fundamentally transform” us by insinuating their crap into every minute of our lives. They dictate what bathrooms we have to have, what pronouns to use, what genders our kids may “choose,” and what thoughts are forbidden. That’s so true.

While acknowledging that, I don’t care that much about football. I only care that the flag and the anthem be respected.

For the rest of the game, and halftime, they can protest all they want. I’m fine if they want to wear “F___ Trump” stickers on their helmets, or “Open Borders For Everyone” patches on their uniforms. I’m OK if they bring in BLM, Green Day, Samantha Bee, Michael Moore, or whatever other America-hating clowns they pick to lecture and amuse us during the game.

But the two minutes for the anthem and the flag should be respected by all. This is the last public ritual of patriotism, of our common nationhood. Can’t there be one little decent thing left that unites us as _Americans_?

Yes, I too would like to see harsh penalties for malware creators and distributors, and I’d like to see websites do a much better job of screening out malvertising.

Ultimately, the best way to stop fraud, offline and online, is to better educate people, to teach them skepticism and common sense. But I’ve tried, and given up, teaching some oldsters how to use the web, because, like kids, they want to click on every shiny thing they see.

I’m a natural skeptic, and never get viruses or malware infections myself, but I don’t know how to teach people how not to be gullible. I think it would help if everybody was encouraged to watch a few movies about con-men/high-pressure salesmen at work, especially “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Tin Men,” “Wall Street,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street;” trouble is, many people who need to hear the message would be put off by the profane content of these excellent films.

Another thing that might help would be to require, and vastly improve, basic finance education in schools and colleges. Solid understanding of simple finance and economics goes a long way toward making a person realize when they are being scammed.

I've e-mailed my congressman asking for a declaration of war, and for swift attacks, with all force, against the Taliban and the regime in Iraq. We already know for sure they are our enemies. They will not be impressed by days of U.S. investigations and fact-finding. It is prudent to assume that more attacks against the U.S. are already planned and staged, and they will be delivered by different means. This was worse than Pearl Harbor, and calls for a fierce and disproportionate counter-attack.