If you read stuff on the internet, be very careful. There are absolutely no standards of honesty or civility on some websites, and spending time on them will hurt you in many ways. Most of all, it will diminish your humanity.

Sadistic people roam the net and post awful things. Everyone knows that. In the past, being a guttersnipe could get you sued or punched. President Andrew Jackson shot it out with smear merchants.

But today, emotionally disturbed individuals can post hate anonymously.

Recently, I was reading a news site when I came across attacks on the actress Jennifer Garner. It seems she went jogging without makeup, and a photo stalker took some pictures. The woman was then viciously attacked on the net for her appearance.

Well, I saw the photos and the actress looked fine. The criticism of her was insane but most likely hurtful if she saw it.

Standards of civility are in free fall all over the world as cyberspace gives power to the emotionally ill as well as evil-doers with pernicious agendas. Pope Francis and other religious leaders have warned about moral dangers on the internet.

Here in America, there's nothing our society can do about destructive postings because of the First Amendment.

But some public condemnation might help.

See you this evening for the No Spin News.