First Impressions

Three quick stories from our first day back in The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

First, it looks like someone didn't want me back in the country.

Planes Are Struck by Lasers Near Newark Airport

Eleven commercial flights and a military plane reported lasers illuminated their aircraft Wednesday night as they flew over New Jersey between the hours of 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ...

Pointing a laser into a cockpit is a federal crime that carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The FBI launched a campaign in January aimed at people who focus potentially blinding lasers at airplanes, and is offering as much as $10,000 for any information leading to the arrest of an individual who intentionally aims a laser at an aircraft.

The number of nationwide laser hits is climbing each year, the Federal Aviation Administration said, from 2,200 incidents in 2010 to 3,400 in 2012 and more than 3,900 in 2013, an all-time high. That’s more than 10 incidents every day across the country.

I'm not sure who is doing this, or why. Might be terrorists, might 'just' be idiots, but I'd sure like to some counter-battery fire used against those jerks.


Next up is the ridiculousness of Bruce Caitlyn Jenner's ESPN award for courage.

Tonight's ESPY awards are not only honoring performances on the court, pitch, field or track, they also will pay tribute to the heroic actions of fellow athletes and colleagues who have faced their toughest challenges outside of their respective games.

One of the most noted ESPY honorees is Caitlyn Jenner, who will tonight be presented with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Caitlyn -- known formerly as Bruce, the decorated Olympic champion -- has transitioned to a woman.

I really don't care one way or the other what anyone does to their body. But please don't confuse that with real courage - for example, the courage that firefighters show when they run into a burning building to rescue people trapped inside.

Or courage like this.

And then there's that pesky little matter of the fatal car crash caused by Bruce/Caitlyn.

“I find it difficult to understand how the culture we live in can honor a person who is responsible for taking a life and injuring several others with both an award and a reality show...”

Police investigating February’s fatal car crash involving Bruce Jenner’s SVU have turned over their findings to the Los Angeles County District Attorney this week...

That means charges may potentially be filed against Jenner in the same week his reality show debuts...

Jenner’s Cadillac Escalade plowed into the back of Kimberley Howe’s car, sending her car careening into oncoming traffic where she collided head on with another vehicle. Howe was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jenner’s lawyers are in talks with the DA’s office begging them to hold off on filing charges at least until after his show premieres.

The buzz for Jenner’s I Am Cait “docu-series”, which premieres on E! Network on July 26, has died down significantly.

E! paid Jenner a reported $5 million to throw open the doors of his home to reality show cameras for an “unfiltered” look into his “transition” from former Olympian he-man to a 65-year-old drag queen.

E! is quietly sending heavily Photoshopped images of Jenner dressed as his alter-ego, “Caitlyn”, to the blogs...

Additionally, insiders whisper that E!’s producers are furiously re-editing the show’s footage to give Jenner a more filtered (read: softer) look on camera.

The signs are everywhere that Jenner’s popularity is fading. He isn’t trending anymore, and his nearly 2.7 million followers on Twitter.com have all but abandoned his Twitter timeline.

It sucks to be him.

Lastly, on a sad note, we have the following.

As I type this (1800 hours CDT, Thurs. 16 July) details are still scarce regarding the shooting of four Marines in Chattanooga. However, two 'facts' (I think) are beginning to emerge.

The shooter's name:

The FBI named the suspect as Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez...

The location:

The Marines were shot in a gun-free zone.

 
Draw your own conclusions...

We'll see how this one plays out. In the meantime, thoughts and prayers for the victims and their loved ones.