Notes to Readers – Page 21

February 5, 2012

Cincinnati Fly Fishing Show

Once a year, the Buckeye United Fly Fishers host the Cincinnati Fly Fishing Show. It’s a gathering of the faithful to demonstrate fly tying, fly rod building, places to go, and of course, things to buy. Most of all, it’s an opportunity to introduce to the curious what fly fishing is all about. Buckeye puts a big emphasis on fly tying, giving some of the regions best the opportunity to show their stuff.

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I was blown away by this mouse. I have never seen anyone tie a mouse on a hook. Now, you’re probably asking what would go after something like that. Big bass. More protein per volume, I guess, and that big mouth is capable of swallowing big “snacks.”

A couple of tables down, another fly tier was showing off his creations, and in addition to more mice, he had some really cool flies.

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Our chief fly tying instructor is Ken Dixon. He is very generous with his time and knowledge, always giving interested individuals a hand.

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Also at the show, the club’s affiliation with Project Healing Waters. PHW is a program to help veterans by introducing them to the calmness of fly fishing and the quiet of healing waters. It’s a worthwhile effort, something I am involved in.

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Great show. Now, let’s find some time to visit a stream or two.

See you on the highway.

Brent

January 18, 2012

The free Internet response to corporate control with SOPA

I don’t usually speak up about political issues. Maybe I should do more. Today, it is one of those necessities.

Perhaps this is one good example of where the “Occupy Movement” has a good case against corporate influence in Congress, for the entertainment industry is trying to get Congress to act in such a way that the entirety of the Internet is endanger, including this web site.

Today, web sites such as Wikipedia and Google have inaugurated a one-day protest to stop two bills: SOPA in the US House of Representatives and PIPA in the US Senate. These bills go way beyond copyright and protection against piracy but give authorities the right to shut down web sites without any kind of grievance or redress, merely on suspicion or linking to content that is copyrighted. The copyright laws in existence are adequate and enforceable. What if someone speaks up about this injustice? Are we a “security risk?”

As a journalist, this type of legislation is a slap in the face of freedom of speech and press, and is a pat on the back of censorship by corporate interests. If these bills, loaded with censorship, pass in their present form, you and I may find ourselves under closer scrutiny of the watchful eye of a government that is more concerned about corporations than the Bill of Rights that ensures our freedoms.

I wonder what Edward R. Murrow would have to say about this?

Brent

Editor’s Note: If you visited earlier, you saw a pop-up screen protesting two bills in Congress that greatly impact the Internet. The pop-up was performing well, and you would have seen it only one time. I have deactivated the plugin installed for the Stop SOPA movement. Apparently, too many people clicked through from here and the thousands of other web sites to the Stop SOPA web site. It apparently overloaded and caused a server failure, consequently impacting the pop-up installed here. I am sure the Stop SOPA movement will be a top story on the network evening news. Thanks for your support. (12:36 pm EST)