Droning On

Remember when you once played the game  I Spy.  I don't mean the board game but the child's game. 
Often it was played in the car on trips to pass the time away.  I know this might seem foreign if you are young enough to be used to sitting in the car with a DVD player or having iPads/tablets to divert your attention away from seeing any actual sights that might be of interest outside your car window. 

Anyway,.....as I was saying..there is a game where a person said "I spy with my little eye, something that's starts with an "D" (as an example) and the other person tried to guess what had been seen. (Hint: For today's  subject we are not seeing dogs, dolls, dorks, or dancing divas.)

Just as I was getting used to the idea that  groups of people were tracking what I buy, what Internet sites I look at,  reading my email and checking out my cell phone calls, I read about the drones hovering around

I hope Mr. Corbet isn't speaking for all rednecks.

keeping tabs on things. Mind you I am not necessarily talking about military drones.Private companies are also using drones to keep track of the activities of others.

I happened to be reading the paper last week when I noticed a story on the front page  of the Kansas City Star that addressed a serious problem arising around the U.S.

I would have inserted more of the article but the fact that it was about a third of a newspaper page doesn't really endear itself to be put here on TAOBC.

Essentially it said, hunters aren't thrilled about being spied on. (are we to assume that other groups are open to be spied on?) and have declared open season on unmanned drones.  You might be surprised to hear that the FAA is less than thrilled about these drones being shot out of the sky and are asking the hunters to be prepared to face some consequences.  

For example,  a Colorado town, Deer Trail, population 550, has garnered international attention by proposing an ordinance that would permit shooting down drones.  Licensed hunters may even collect $100 bounty if they present verifiable pieces of a drone.

As with all "differences of opinion" lately, this is stirring up the debate of  "their rights versus our rights."   Clearly, there is a lot of snooping going on. Do we have a right to privacy?   

Crabby isn't sure what the limit is for drones. 

Thought Number Two:   To those that are watching

For anyone that is monitoring my Facebook/Twitter/email/blog/cell phone or computer  for information, try to laugh at my jokes, ignore the rants,  don't tell certain family members about the blog as they are better off not knowing.  Oh...and some of the stuff I Google...it's for research purposes only...quit judging me.

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Not THAT 50 Shades of Gray

 Is it just me or is it becoming increasingly more difficult to discern between who is right and who is wrong?   What is fair or unfair?  No matter what the topic, the proponents are seeing it one way and the opponents are resolute in their convictions as well.  Things have become very complicated.


Thought Number One:  Saying Too Much

Take for example, this week there is the story of a news reporter out of Huntsville, AL that was fired for things she wrote in her personal blog.  Yes, Shea Allen was expressing her personal opinions on her personal blog about her job.  Unfortunately, she like millions of other people, assumed she had the right to say whatever she wanted under the auspices of her First Amendment Rights.

Shea wrote a post on her blog,  No Apologies: Confessions of a Red Headed Reporter, where she stated among other things that she is frightened of old people.

 Shea's boss wasn't feeling the love as far as Shea's blog goes and he certainly didn't find any humor in it.  Along with firing her, he released a statement saying that she did irreparable harm to the station's image.

Now, instead of being the reporter...she is the reported.  Shea has done a number of interviews in the past week saying that she feels it is unfair that she was fired.  She goes on to say, that all of her statements were supposed to be quirky and funny.

Again...her boss wasn't laughing.

In an interesting article by Ruth Carter of the Carter Law Firm, who coincidently is an attorney that specializes in legal issues stemming from social media,   brings up some interesting points. While a person may have the right to say whatever they want, an employer in a at-will state may legally choose to fire someone for anything he chooses as long as it isn't about a protected area (i.e. gender, race, religion, disability etc.)  Unfortunately for Shea, making bad jokes about her job isn't a protected area.

Ruth, who has her own blog, says there is a lot a gray area in social media disputes. Not only does her law firm handle such cases, she has a book out The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to Get Sued, Fired, Arrested or Killed.

So...who is right and who is wrong?   My personal opinion is she crossed a line by talking about her job in a negative way using her real name and her actual place of employment. Should she of been fired??? I am wavering back and forth.  She offered to take down  the offending post but is that too little, too late.  Will deleting the post and apologizing undo the damage of negative publicity and public scrutiny brought on by Shea's insensative blog comments?   Overall, everyone should realize that things you put on the Internet are NOT  the same as writing them in your diary. It's out there for the world to see.


Thought Number Two: Sharing Too Much

I don't think Shea is alone in crossing some undefinable line of how much sharing is too much sharing.  That may be unfair as I am also a blogger and you might know more about me than you should or for that matter...more than you care to know.

Still I try to be somewhat mindful of what should remain private for both me and for those of my family members that had no say in my starting this blog in the first place. 

I will tell you...I follow a lot of blogs.  Considering the time I spend reading blogs, it could be said I need to cut back a bit.  I really should cut back on salt, and caffeine too but,  I don't see that any of the three are in harm's way at this point.

But...as I was saying..I follow a lot of blogs and am often shocked at how willing some people are to share some amazingly private things.  Now don't get me wrong...sometimes sharing private thoughts about what's happeining in their lives, is necessary depending on the type of blog it is. That is especially true of those that are chronicling illnesses or difficult periods in their life. That is the intent of the blog to channel those thoughts.  I get it.

Another class of blogs that can pretty much get away with anything are the humor blogs. For the most part  I/we know they are trying to be funny.Yeah, I totally get that too.

 However, occasionally a blog will "all but come up and out of the computer to slap me in the face" with it's shocking or explicit subject matter.




Just kidding, of course, we are here for ya!  Blab away!!!

Come Join Top Sites Tuesday and be #1 on BlogDumps!
The purpose of this Meme is to encourage
Networking between bloggers and to have fun while doing it!
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