The captured affluenza fugitive has a predecessor. She was a wealthy 72 year old criminal from a generation before.

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Martin Shkreli purchased a drug company for the purpose of gouging those vulnerable to deadly illness.

His arrest has generated a tsunami of Christmas cheer.

Let's add a spoonful of caution to our joy.

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Kim Davis is inspired by Martin Luther King. If she knew who inspired Dr. King, she might take on another duty.

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Marvin Mandel led his state into a medical revolution, using helicoptor transport to save those who would have been given up for dead.

He did it with no political benefit to himself, and he did it against a vicious campaign waged by entrenched medical, insurance, and business interests.

He was a hero.

He should have served a longer term in prison.

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Within the last few years, a British spy at a high level within al Qaeda and a secret informant with the North Korean government were compromised by published reports.

If reports are accurate, the existance of an official in the government of Pakistan has been revealed, after he helped Americans know where and how to kill Osama bin laden.

We have to be impressed by the bravery of those reporters who inform us of all the facts, and who courageously accept the consequences of their actions.

Regardless of who suffers those consequences.

Rudy Giuliani has found a theme in public statements by President Obama. It is that everybody should hate the police.

It occurs to me that a simple sense ethics will compel Mr. Giuliani to hold others to similar standards. It has to. His well known level of integrity demands it.

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Not quite buried in news accounts of protest, violence, and frequent missteps of authorities, was an incident that should have enraged pretty much everyone on every side of every aspect of Ferguson events. The New York Times published the home street and town where Officer Darren Wilson lives, along with the name of his new wife.

It reminds me of another incident from years ago. It is especially interesting to me how reactions have shifted.

The unraveling of the Secret Service protection of President Obama is a scary thing for those of us who remember the most painful moments of the 1960s, or the near murder of another President almost 20 years later. It now appears that two demented individuals came very close to repeating searing events, not while our President was on a sidewalk or in an automobile. They both came closer than we knew at the time, both violating the People's House. The White House is where the President and his family live, where the first couple sleep at night, where their children have played while growing up.

Gunshots have broken a window in the family living quarters. A man carry a knife came very near. Had the first family been delayed even a few minutes in leaving on a trip, and had the intruder turned left instead of right at a critical juncture, tragedy might have struck again.

In a literal sense, it hits close to home.

There really are a small number of activists so devoted to ideology they cannot find within themselves any sympathy for the families of the Sandy Hook children. Some parents of those little kids still report anonymous messages of hostility.

And this newest tragedy carried with it yet another stunning reaction. The open letter on a conservative website targeted the grieving father who had appeared on television.

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We got news reports of the attacks on the base, and Marine fatalities, just as his messages suddenly stopped. We realized that electronic communication would not be possible during transport, but as days dragged on, fear bore down a little harder. I had private talks with God that were a little harsher than usual. Of course, we feared the worst.

He eventually was able to let us know he was safe.

I occasionally think back on that time, and on the prayers. We still carry the relief that came when we heard from him. I also carry the inherent selfishness, the zero-sum nature of my talks with God. Please, Lord, let it be other families who get the bad news.

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