tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post1244076048481312159..comments2024-03-26T12:05:58.591-04:00Comments on Freemasons For Dummies: Press: England's Masonic Police Officers Get a Last New Year's SwipeChristopher Hodapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-60815167017597699182018-01-03T13:44:21.308-05:002018-01-03T13:44:21.308-05:00Fair point. The paragraph got shifted to the end f...Fair point. The paragraph got shifted to the end from where I had first intended it, which altered its perception. I have moved it up where it belonged to begin with.Christopher Hodapphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-88324900748333934932018-01-03T12:41:13.875-05:002018-01-03T12:41:13.875-05:00I agree that it is odd for the newspaper to single...I agree that it is odd for the newspaper to single his masonic affiliation out as a point of controversy. However, you also tied it into Sen. Warren's opposition to his appointment, making it seem like she opposed him on the grounds that he is a mason, when she actually opposed him for much more relevant reasons.West Jeff Lawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437338789001385005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-3426680540760742892018-01-03T11:36:26.616-05:002018-01-03T11:36:26.616-05:00I have no dog in that skirmish politically either ...I have no dog in that skirmish politically either way, and I make no judgement as to his qualifications or lack of them. <i>I'M</i> certainly not qualified to make such a decision, which is why they have conformation hearings for federal judicial appointments instead of elections. I simply found it out of character for a modern U.S. paper to use his Masonic membership as an additional stick to smack him with.Christopher Hodapphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-34032412251074939292018-01-03T08:41:31.528-05:002018-01-03T08:41:31.528-05:00I think the defense of Brett Talley is a little di...I think the defense of Brett Talley is a little dishonest here. He was a controversial nominee, but it had nothing what-so-ever to do with his masonic affiliation. He was a controversial nominee because he was vastly unqualified for the position. He had practices law a total of three years, and had never been inside a courtroom. His experience was as a speech writer for Rob Portman and Mitt Romney. He was voted as "unqualified" by the American Bar Association, which has only happened a handful of times before. He lacked the professional experience necessary, but even worse he exhibited poor judgement at numerous points, the worst of which was his failure to disclose his relationship with his own wife (who works in the legal counsel office of the White House) as a potential conflict of interest. His defense to this oversight was "I thought everyone already knew, so I didn't have to put it on the form." Disastrous lack of judgement. <br /><br />There were many reasons to find his nomination to be a mockery of the federal judiciary, and his nomination was not "controversial" in the scare quote sense, it was controversial in fact, and was only resolved when he withdrew his nomination. The controversy did not revolve around his masonic affiliation, but on actual professional merit. After reading numerous articles about this man, this blog post is the first I've seen which mentions his masonic affiliation. I do not think Mr. Talley's nomination is in any way comparable to the police story which forms the main body of your post.West Jeff Lawyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17437338789001385005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-3846263063998836982018-01-01T16:37:51.057-05:002018-01-01T16:37:51.057-05:00There have been vigorous efforts to increase the p...There have been vigorous efforts to increase the percentage of women police in Britain, and currently about 29 percent of police officers are women. Minority ethnic groups are just over 5 percent. The need to have a more diverse force is part of the discussion involving Masonic memberships.Bro. Paul Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06435030965629467739noreply@blogger.com