The Sayings of Grandpa Jim

How I Became a Dirty Capitalist

2012-01-18T21:58:00.003-05:00

Life is evolutionary in the broadest sense of that term. Constant change occurs, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and that change is directed by God. (I do not believe in randomness as a pure function of existence, for while randomness is a useful mathematical concept and tool, much on the order of imaginary numbers, it is simply a subset of a more complex, highly directed universe. Entropy is not a proof of randomness, but an evidence of direction in existence.) God set up His creation at the highest level of organization, set mankind within it to maintain it to the best of their ability, and gave to people sets of goals and limits to maximize their success in Project Earth.

God also intervenes in the affairs of men, a function which was often described by people of an earlier time as "Providence", but which needs to be understood as something like a number line, where values can be perceived as either positive or negative, depending on a person's relationship to the zero point. Those who lack a proper relationship with God may find fault with "negative Providence", but in every instance, that which is "negative Providence" for one person will in some way be "positive Providence" for someone else. The truism is that, for those who love and respect God, everything is working to achieve God's intended goal.

I admit I am a neophyte in the world of capital investments. It was not until I was 44 years old that I began to invest in stocks, and that happened in an evolutionary sort of way.

I was always impressed by my father's ability to make do with a relatively meager income. He came of age at the start of the Great Depression. Graduating from high school at the beginning of FDR's regime, he felt extremely fortunate to have a job where his talents were totally unappreciated. Although he took college preparatory courses in high school, he had no money for college tuition; he would spend his life as a laborer. I remember him counting his pennies at the end of each day, journalling his expenses.

Dad kept track of every cent, and was not about to risk what he had in a stock market that he had been led to believe was not worthy of trust. Conventional wisdom of his time held that stock market investment was merely a form of gambling. His tales of the Depression and his own experience with stocks colored my perception of such investments.

There was little effort put forward during my schooling to explain that ownership of stock was ownership of the industries that employed people. Those were the days when public schooling was keyed to turning out workers rather than owners. Not much has changed since then, I suppose. As a teenager in the 1960's, my teachers were liberal in their persuasion and my life philosophy was a crazy amalgam wherein I viewed "big business" -- my perception of capitalism -- as somewhat "dirty". Further, my religious orientation at the time was such that it seemed wrong to be laying up treasures on earth. (Laughably, communism -- the doctrine of community ownership of capital -- was railed against but its tenets could not legally be taught in public schools. Had it been properly taught and contrasted with private ownership of capital, the socialistic leanings of the political power-mongers would have been exposed for what they were.)

In the mid-1950's the company Dad worked for instituted a profit-sharing plan in which the customary annual bonuses would be invested in the company's stock. Dad went along with it simply because he had no choice. In 1962, faced with the physical necessity of getting out of the meat coolers or dying, he accepted a job, at minimum wage, with Myers Tire Supply. Due to his financial necessity -- a new house, new car, five kids -- he persuaded his old company to give him the principal amount he had invested (via unpaid annual bonuses) in their profit-sharing plan.

His old employer grudgingly gave him the money, but only to the limit of the principal amount of the bonuses he was entitled to. A few months later that company filed for bankruptcy protection; to Dad's knowledge, he was the only employee that saw anything out of the profit-sharing plan. Thus he was extremely skeptical when Uncle Bill urged him to participate in Myers' profit-sharing plan, but he agreed to try it. Unknown to us was the future, in which dividends from Dad's steady investment in Myers stock, with its occasional splits, would form a small but welcome addition to Mom's income beyond Social Security.

My true education in economics began in the late '80's, as I struggled to maintain a business with employees. I had never before been faced with the problem of cash flow in a situation where the livelihoods of others was at risk. Not only was my position with regard to the role of capital fiscally disastrous, it also became apparent that it was at odds with the more important tenets of my faith. You simply cannot share or give to others that which you do not have.

In 1991, hearing stories of money to be made, I succumbed to temptation and invested $1000 in BCCI -- the Cayman Island Bank. Dad and Mom had taken out a $500 life insurance policy (through Prudential) for me when I was a newborn; over the years the policy amount had swelled to over $3000 and I was able to scrape up the cash by borrowing against the policy. Shortly after the investment was made, the assets of BCCI were seized. By the grace of God -- Providence -- a limited amount of principal was recovered. To put it in a safe place, my brother-in-law, Mark Novkov, reinvested it for me in a mutual fund, the Investment Company of America (ICA).

I knew nothing about mutual funds, their investment strategies, or their management. ICA, however, was a company with a long track record, and I was pleased with the dividends that began to be reinvested every quarter. Investing in the stock market was something I was now willing to try, but I was uncertain how to find a broker. Besides, we were financially strapped, paying back money that had been borrowed to pay ruinous Federal employment taxes, medical bills, and to keep my business afloat. Most years, I had no spare cash to even make more than token repayments on the principal amount of the policy loan; for some years I was able only to make the small required annual interest payment.

Then, in 2001, Prudential de-mutualized and issued stock to each of its policyholders. I was issued 24 shares. I cheerfully accepted my annual dividend check, which offset the annual interest on the policy loan. In 2003, I was hired as staff appraiser by Charter One Bank, and for the first time in years my income allowed me to make substantial progress in eliminating my debt. Also, the company matched employee investment in its profit-sharing plan, and I took advantage of the opportunity to get some free money.

When Charter One was bought out by Royal Bank of Scotland in 2004 and all the appraisers were let go, the amounts I had vested in the profit-sharing plan were rolled into IRA mutual fund accounts, but ICA was not an available choice through the IRA manager. I was introduced to several other mutual funds, and learned that IRA accounts were not free. IRA account managers collect a percentage each year from the accounts. This is not a problem when the funds in the IRA are growing and producing income, but if the funds show a loss, the IRA account will be charged for the manager's fund. That worried me, since, as an appraiser with a grasp of how mortgage financing was supported in the marketplace, I was well aware that the economy was overheated and ready for a downturn.

Additionally, all of the dismissed former Charter One employees had been given stock options as part of the buyout package. The company that would manage my RBS stock options was Computershare, which was also the agency used by Prudential for stock management. I logged into Computershare's website, set up my account, and discovered that I could buy and sell stock through them. They would act as agent, holding the shares in my name, and would reinvest any dividends according to my instructions. The stage was set for my entry into the World of Wall Street.

While part of the Charter One severance package was full vesting in all profit sharing, another part was the granting of options on Royal Bank of Scotland stock. The package gave me an option on 150 shares at £15.53, to be exercised between September 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008. In early 2007, as the advance ripples of the global banking meltdown began to trouble the banks, the Plan was altered with a 2-for-1 bonus issue; I was then holding an option on 450 shares at £5.1766 per share.

Needless to say, I became extremely interested in the price of RBS stock in 2007, and realized that due to the European bank meltdown (which I had been expecting for some time, although I was frustrated that no one else seemed to see it) exercise of the options would be touch-and-go. In February 2007 RBS hit its high of nearly £6. On March 21 it was beginning to slide, at £5.80. On September 14, 2007, the stock was at £4.56; if I wanted to exercise the option, I would have to pony up £277.47, or about $550 at current exchange rates. By March 20, 2008 RBS was at £2.75 and my options would have cost about $2,100 to exercise. I was not impressed, and in what I now consider to have been one of my finest hours, I let the options expire. Today RBS is trading at about £0.25. Good riddance.

There was an upside to that experience. While doing all that sleuthing in the markets, I also discovered that Dominion Energy, our natural gas supplier, had a program whereby its customers could purchase Dominion stock directly through them, and Dominion would reinvest the dividends (or send a check, whichever you might prefer) at no cost to the shareholder. I began to look for ways to come up with cash to open an account through Dominion Direct. My rationale was that as a Dominion customer I might as well get some of my heating bill money back as dividends.

A second discovery was that Computershare, as agent for a number of companies, offered a long list of stocks which could be purchased directly, and many of the companies which used Computershare would also pay any brokerage fees for the reinvestment of dividends. Throughout 2008 I studied a number of stocks available through Computershare, looking for companies which paid good dividends and which also paid the reinvestment fees. In late 2008 I took the plunge, buying 100 shares through Dominion Direct, and investing $1,000 in J. M. Smucker (we drink Folger's coffee and eat Jiff peanut butter) and $500 in Pfizer (seemed to be a low priced stock with a good dividend) via Computershare.

Throughout 2009 and 2010, the interest rate on our passbook savings account steadily declined. I began to look for an alternative bank. ING was recommended. In August 2010 several events occurred which would trigger a bank switch.

The funds in my IRA account had been a choice made when I had no known options for a different type of investment, and they were weak performers. They were also subject to annual management fee charges, as I mentioned above. Those accounts had lost heavily in the 2007-2008 downturn, but in mid-2010 they perked up and regained to the point that they were worth, in August 2010, what they had been worth two years earlier. I decided to sell and reinvest in stocks that had a track record for good dividend performance.

ING offers its depositors a brokerage account called Sharebuilder. Sharebuilder differs from Computershare in that Computershare is an agent which holds the stock in the name of the purchaser whereas the Sharebuilder account is a brokerage account which holds the stock for the depositor. Also, Computershare executes trades on set days of the month, whereas the Sharebuilder depositor is able to make trades in real-time and has more choices as to available stocks. If the investor chooses, shares purchased in real-time (at opportune prices) can be transferred from Sharebuilder to Computershare. There are valid reasons for holding the shares in either account, depending on the type of strategy the investor wants to use for growth or trading.

I deposited the funds from the sale of the IRAs into an ING Orange account which I then linked to a Sharebuilder account. Instead of the 0.84% that FirstMerit was currently paying, ING Orange was paying 1.10%. Further, the first purchase I made through Sharebuilder was for 100 shares of First Energy, which currently has a rate of return of about 5.2%. ($2.20 annual dividend on today's [1/18/2012] close of $41.97 per share.)

It isn't all gravy. There are dangers in investing in stocks. There are no guarantees that a company will stay in business or even make a profit. The day I bought my 100 shares of First Energy (at $39.33), the stock price tumbled almost 10% immediately after my purchase and only very slowly recovered over a period of several months. Had I made the purchase for speculative purposes, it would have had to be viewed as a huge loss, but because I am looking for long-term growth and income, I am confident that the investment is sound.

Owning part of a company brings to the shareholder the same kinds of concerns a sole proprietor faces on a daily basis, but usually without the urgency. It can also bring the satisfaction and reward that comes with successful business performance. I have learned a lot in a short time, and have formulated some concepts that I would like to pass on. Remember though-- there are no guarantees in stock ownership, and I, myself, am still learning on a daily basis.

Some Moral Implications of Capitalism

2012-01-17T22:31:00.003-05:00

My view of motivation in life is that all of a person's actions are driven by that person's belief system. Every human, whether a devout worshipper of a deity or an atheist, is religious, because there are certain fundamental things which every person simply assumes without proof, and that is the essence of belief. Thus it is that a person's true religion will be revealed in his or her business dealings.

I am a Christian, believing in God Who created and maintains the universe (and thus by logical extension He is not a part of His universe), and Who gave to mankind a set of definitions of right and wrong contained in the Bible. God will, at some future date, judge both the righteousness and the accomplishments (two separate charges) of every person who has ever lived. The Bible assures me of the conditions for my righteousness, and instructs me as to the proper way to attain my accomplishments. For these reasons the arguments which follow may be uncomfortable for many people who do not hold the same beliefs; I can say that because they are at times uncomfortable for me as well.

The Bible begins with a story that is an allegory with respect to human nature. People had been given instruction as to what constitutes proper behavior. They had been given work to do, and were permitted to enjoy their labor and the fruits of their labor, with one restriction -- the property rights of their Creator must be respected. The desire to take what was not rightfully theirs lead to perversion of their assigned task and dissatisfaction with their gain.

That story of the Beginning is a summation of all of human economic history.

God chose one family, that of Jacob the grandson of Abraham, to hold the instructions for morally correct economic activity. Because the members of that family have more often than not followed the instructions, they have tended to prosper financially, and that prosperity has incited jealousy and persecution throughout history. Anyone wishing to know the secrets of economic propriety has only to read the Torah.

At the root level, the instructions teach that God Who created the universe is the ultimate owner and King of His creation. People are both citizens and employees of Project Earth, and the goal of the enterprise is to maximize both the size of the company workforce and its production, using the provided resources. The competition (The Adversary), on the other hand, works to thwart that goal.

Every person born is provided with some capital; each has a function within the company, and each is given, at some time and at some level, abilities, skills, and/or material goods, to invest in the project. I am of the persuasion that the gifts of The Almighty allow the individual to use the given abilities to develop skills to maximize the capital.

Because the capital is a distribution in trust from The Almighty, absolute human ownership of the capital does not exist. Each human is a steward of some portion, small or large, of the capital intended for the operation of the enterprise. Further, the hoarding of capital, whether the withdrawal of land from the production of food, the failure to use a medium of exchange to encourage work by others, or the restriction of the use of new ideas so as to prevent the profiting by others, is a breech of stewardship, thwarting the goals of Project Earth.

Capital is popularly seen as only money, but labor and ideas are equally important kinds of capital. How that capital is utilized within the micro-economic setting, whether through a free-market system or through a planned-market system, will determine its effectiveness because at the core of human nature is dissatisfaction with what we have been given (in trust) coupled with desire for that we lack. Further, the person's view as to the origin of that capital will influence his perceptions respecting ownership, stewardship, and disposition of that capital.

Maximizing the size of the company workforce and its production (which involves employee working conditions) is a basic goal of the project, so treatment of the employees is a critical concern of the owner. Thus rules were formulated -- don't steal reputations, or money, or spouses, or anything God gave to another employee for any reason. In this is seen the importance to the owner of individual workers, and the need to protect and take care of them. It is also the reason for lower, middle, and upper management, positions which God assigns and uses to govern various branches of the company (nations and kingdoms). Politics is thus a subset of economics, and war is destructive to both.

Profit is the result of attaining the goals of the company. The amount of profit is not necessarily significant to a particular work-shift since the company is a long-term operation, but profit is the goal. Jesus told several parables to illustrate that concept. Profit will result in people having more satisfying lives. Therefore, employees of Project Earth who do not invest in the company in some way (again, amount is not the critical factor) will be condemned for that failure. Extending this concept to monetary investment has encountered some resistance among those who fancy themselves morally pure, since the love of money is the root of all evil.

Profit from the loaning of capital is not wrong in itself, but when it impacts the welfare of the employees, particularly through mortgage interest on their homes, clothing, or food, it endangers the goals of the company. For this reason banking is one of those shadow activities with questionable morality. Usury involves the loaning of capital coupled with holding collateral hostage (a mortgage situation). It is described by the Bible as being evil. The collection of interest on money is not intrinsically evil, and may be legitimate where business lending is needed, but no collateral may be held. The antidote to personal mortgage lending is charitable giving; in the words of Jesus, lending without expecting to be repaid.

Investment is quite different from usury in that the purchaser of a share of an enterprise has no anticipation of a repayment except through sharing the increased profits (or losses, as that may be) of the company. If a business venture is formed through selling 1 share of stock to each of 100 investors, each investor is owner of a 1/100 share of the entire business, with the right to collectively dictate how the business is to be run, and to collect 1/100 of the business profits set aside to be paid to the owners (dividends). No individual shareholder can hold the company assets hostage as collateral. If, through the collective decisions of the shareholders, the business fails, they have no recourse, since it can be argued that the failure was a result of inattention by the shareholders to properly control the management of the work at hand. It can also be argued that the minority shareholders are not necessarily responsible for either the success or failure of the business when there is one stakeholder who controls a majority interest.

In the case of Project Earth, God is the majority shareholder, and He delights in profit-sharing with His employees. For that reason He distributes, as He sees fit, the dividends which each employee then is able to plow back into the enterprise. Dissatisfaction with the type and quantity of capital gain distributed by the King is a symptom of rebellion, but the desire to emulate the King, by donating capital to those who might in some way have less, is encouraged and rewarded by Him, often through a grant of a more diverse and profitable form of capital.

You cannot give to others that which you do not have. Profit from the investment of capital is the engine behind charitable giving. However, reliance on charitable giving to meet the needs of those who lack essentials will rarely bring about the satisfaction the recipients would prefer. If the recipients of such charity fail to find a suitable investment venue in turn, their gift will merely extend their misery. Coveting what another person has is evil, whether the covetous person has little or much. Those who have are expected (but not obligated) to share with those who have not; God will judge the adequacy of their donation. Those who receive a gift are expected to be satisfied with what the donor shares; God will judge the level of their thankfulness. Jesus implied that equality of opportunity is not the same as equality of participation; opportunity would be provided regardless the amount of capital a person would start with. Equality of results is not guaranteed.

What is the function of upper management (the government) in all this? It is to provide oversight of the conditions under which the size of the company, the amount of production, and the level of profit, can be maximized. While the ability to govern is a form of capital, management is not ownership; when management attempts to judge the actions of the shareholders, particularly with regard to disposition of the profits, it risks being replaced by new management more conducive to the desires of the owners. Management which reduces production by starving the enterprise of workers (either through reduction in actual numbers or by discouragement of inflows of new investment capital) and/or resources (by refusing to make them available) is being subversive and will be judged accordingly.

Applying these concepts to individual action leads to the conclusion that surplus capital should be invested in gainful enterprises whenever possible in order that it might be multiplied and ultimately used to provide for those whom God might direct to the individual for assistance. Again, you cannot give to others that which you do not have, and failure to invest carries greater condemnation than investing and failing.

Alas, Babylon!

2012-01-07T10:43:00.005-05:00

When the book with the above title was published just over 50 years ago the Cold War raged; the United States was the champion of freedom and Godless Russian Communist atheism was seen as the enemy of that freedom. The worm has turned. To everything there is a time and a season. Last night was Christmas Eve in Russia : the readers of ITAR-TASS 50 years ago would have stopped their breath in wonder.
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Medvedev congratulates Russian believers on Christmas
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, January 7 (Itar-Tass) — President Dmitry Medvedev has congratulated Orthodox believers and all Russian citizens marking Christmas.

“The Christmas days give us eternal light of belief and fill us with joy and hope. This is the time of good thoughts and good deeds, care about family and unknown people who need our helping hand,” he said in his congratulatory message.

“Sharing with you the joy of this holiday I wish you health, happiness and all the best. Let the light from the Star of Bethlehem bring happiness, love and harmony to every family and prosperity to our country,” Medvedev said in his message.

© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved.
You undertake not to copy, store in any medium (including in any other websites), distribute, transmit, re-transmit, broadcast, modify or show in public any part of the ITAR-TASS website without the prior written permission of ITAR-TASS.

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We need only contrast this with the attention paid to Christmas in Washington this past December -- a tree with an Obama Ornament on it.

“12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? and cut down to the ground, which didst cast lots upon the nations?

13 Yet thou saidest in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, and exalt my throne above beside the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the Congregation in the sides of the North.

14 I will ascend above ye height of the clouds, and I will be like the most high.

15 But thou shalt be brought down to the grave, to the sides of the pit.

16 They that see thee, shall look upon thee and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, and that did shake the kingdoms?

17 He made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, and opened not the house of his prisoners.

18 All the Kings of the nations, even they all sleep in glory, everyone in his own house.

19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch: like the raiment of those that are slain, and thrust through with a sword, which go down to the stones of the pit, as a carcass trodden under feet.

20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in the grave, because thou hast destroyed thine own land, and slain thy people: the seed of the wicked shall not be renowned forever.

21 Prepare a slaughter for his children, for the iniquity of their fathers: let them not rise up nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with enemies.

22 For I will rise up against them (saith the Lord of hosts) and will cut off from Babel the name and the remnant and the son, and the nephew, saith the Lord:

23 And I will make it a possession to ye hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 14:12-22(Geneva 1560)

THE END IS NEAR!

2011-12-31T22:13:00.002-05:00

As I write this, the clock moves onward and soon the end will come. The end of the second, the minute, the hour, the day. the week, the YEAR A.D. 2011. Wait a minute -- it already happened, a few hours to the east.

Bummer.

So 2012 is upon us. A Presidential election year, and according to the ancient Mayan calendar the world will end next December, after the American people choose a new President. Coincidence? All events are related somehow, tied together by that mysterious elementary particle of the universe, the elusive foo boson.

I ran for Congress in 2000, a triad of leap years ago, as a Republican primary candidate in the 14th District. Then I tried it again in 2010, same party, in the 13th District. Now its the 16th District, and once more it is Leap Year, but my cheering section has disassembled itself, the deadline for filing in the primary is long past, and beside all that, I have no wish to be abused by the Republican party again.

Oh, my ideals have not changed. My positions have become clearer. The results of policies I decried have become even more deadly to the welfare of my country. I fear, however, that America has a secret death wish.

The primary season opened with multiple challengers jockeying for anointment by the press and pundits as the challenger to the man seen as the destroyer of all that is good about America. They are wrong, though, the people of America have themselves presided over the destruction of their nation.

As one who is under oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic, I find myself turning to the policies, written so long ago, which undergird that document; to the Bible, which ordains that all should be treated equally, that fraud and all that contributes to fraud is detestable, and that life is precious and must be protected and enhanced with all the power at our disposal. If we simply would do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God, His blessings will fall upon us like the springtime rain.

I look for one who would uphold those things, but such a person faces numerous enemies who would serve their own interests rather than the good of the Republic. I have had enough of the posturing of those who worship Democracy and hate the ordinances of God. Good riddance to the Year 2011.

THE END IS NEAR!

On Hornets and Hackers...

2011-12-26T20:09:00.004-05:00

It was when I was a newly feathered teenager that we one day discovered in the pine trees on our extra side lot a big hornet nest. Being exceptionally bright cookies, my brothers and I decided that it would be bad medicine to disturb that paper metropolis from up close. Being exceptionally mischievous malingerers, we also craved the excitement of demolition. Besides, everyone knows hornets are evil; harassing them would be a good deed. The solution -- we stood back about 50 feet away and shot into the nest with our BB guns.

Did you know that hornets can detect the direction and angle of fire of projectiles at significant distances from their source? We learned something new that day; a victim will only be a victim until he discovers a way to turn the tables on his tormentor.

On Christmas Eve the Internet terrorist organization known as "Anonymous" reportedly broke into the database of Stratfor Global Intelligence, a company that does news analysis for a world-wide client base. The terrorists stole subscriber usernames and passwords, gained access to their credit card accounts, and ran up charges by donating money to charitable organizations.

Reading the comments generated on a number of websites and blogs, it is obvious that there are large numbers of people who are morally degenerate enough to think that Robin Hood tactics are a means of doing good. That should have been obvious from the support that the Occupy Movement has had, even from people who otherwise have a reputation as good citizens. The fact that even political leaders seem to feel that evil deeds will solve the Nation's problems ought to serve as warning that we are headed for catastrophic anarchy, and the eventual loss of cherished freedoms.

I have a number of friends, many now retired, who have worked in the IT field since the 1960's (some even longer) who contemptuously call such troublemakers "script kiddies". They spent a good part of their careers working to foil people who either as a game, or as part of organized espionage, attempted to circumvent security features and access data which was not intended for public exposure. They are well aware that most security breeches are caused by laxity on the part of an IT department which has not considered itself a target for one reason or another. They are also quite confident that as such exploits grow in number, there will be retaliatory measures taken.

"Anonymous", "Occupy Whatever", and other such self-absorbed dreamers need to understand that their mischief to this point has been directed at groups and organizations which have not attempted retaliation. The clients of Stratfor, however, are a mixed bag of corporate and governmental entities, and includes private contractors for security concerns. One of the reasons for attacking that site was that Stratfor was somehow considered "evil", merely on the basis of who they accepted as clientele. One of the reasons for shooting BBs at the hornets' nest was that they could possibly sting people.

In all the wide world there probably are well trained and genuinely evil people who patronize think tanks like Stratfor. That should give the terrorists pause. Just as they are able to use their technological skill to break in, steal information, and use it to create havoc, their victims are also technologically capable, and will eventually be able to track down their tormentors.

At that point, the Internet terrorists had better hope that their victims are much less evil than they originally believed. Back in the bad old days, if you attacked a robber baron and stole his money or embarrassed him, he might not only come after you to kill you, but he might also strike at those near and dear to you. It is said that "Anonymous" tried to shake down a Mexican drug gang, and was warned that the consequences would be dire. They should not sleep too comfortably in the misapprehension that their victims on Wall Street and in other high places around the world are less serious about revenge than the drug lords who have no compunction about hanging their tormentors on wires from bridges, or removing body parts to send a message. Hornets do not like to have their nests disturbed.

Sigh. Time Flies.

2011-12-25T23:42:00.005-05:00

It is amazing the difference 10 years can make. I wonder what it will be like 10 years from now...

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T17:08:00.003-05:00

Christmas 2011 (the Western version) has come and is slipping past as I write this. I enjoy the Christmas story, and am thankful that God was willing to bless me -- and all other people -- with the gift of Himself as our Savior, and that He would choose to do so in precisely the manner in which He did it. For years now, however, the Christmas season has made me somewhat uneasy. It has been a bit of a fretful time; a time that produces a sort of melancholy in me, even to the point of depression.

Within the Christmas story is the account of the journey of the wise men from the east, who carried gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus. Around this story has grown up the custom of gift-giving, which for most of the world, is the total meaning of Christmas. This custom of exchanging gifts at the celebration of the nativity is nowhere commanded in the Scriptures. Throughout most of Western history it seems to have been a relatively low-key activity, and does not appear in early Church history as a significant factor. It is even suspected by some groups of believers to be an assimilation of a pagan activity.

Then there are always those each year who cry out against the "commercialization" of Christmas, and there are those for whom the "commercialization" of Christmas is the difference between having food on the table and going hungry. Additionally, the bizarre shenanigans of shoppers willing to camp out for "Black Friday" sales, or to fight one another or riot over some particular piece of merchandise, always causes saner citizens to doubt whether Christmas gift-giving is worth the demeaning of the memorial.

To counter that, and because the gift-giving by the wise men has never seemed to be sufficient reason for some people to participate, the rationale has been trotted forth that the giving of gifts is appropriate because it mirrors the very activity of The Eternal in giving Himself. I am persuaded that giving gifts under such reasoning more truly memorializes Christmas, but I fear that in actual practice, it is usually quite banal and trivializes what was done.

We glibly sing the carols and fail to consider the depth of the words; "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. " Within that message is an announcement of more than just the birth of a child. It is the flat statement that a pressing need was met, and that disaster had been averted.

Christmas is actually the acknowledgment of that dreaded idea of Original Sin and the Just Wrath of God. Those who celebrate Christmas admit by doing so, whether willingly or unwillingly, that they have sinned, come short of the Glory of God, and are worthy of spending all of Eternity with that enemy of God, the Devil himself. Had Jesus not been given to us, and had He not subsequently paid the ransom for us on the cross, our future would have been one of eternal torment.

Christmas. The Savior is born. Peace is extended to mankind as a gift from God. It is no mystery that non-Christians should want to take Christ out of Christmas, since His presence, even as a babe in a manger, is a reminder of the presence of sin in our lives, and the price we could not ourselves pay to redeem the glory lost by Adam.

Thus the quandary. The gift that was given by God was a gift that was essential for meeting a need. We do not celebrate Christmas because God in some moment of merriment decided to visit His creation with His presence. We celebrate Christmas because He gave the gift of Eternal Life, the escape from Hell -- "peace, good will toward men."

I suppose what has always bothered me about the Christmas season is that great triviality with which it is treated, and the accompanying triviality in the gift-giving which is supposed to commemorate the Gift of God. For this year, the celebration of the Day is about at an end. It has come and gone. I have participated in the triviality, but will I do better in the future?

Would it not be more appropriate for me to consider my great need that was met, and look about for needs that others have that could be met by me? Rather than a box of candy, or a toy, or even the consideration of a gift for someone else who might be equally well off, would not the true sense of what God did for me be better expressed if, as a gift, I gave something that would meet the needs of a person who was totally unable to reciprocate?

Does Christmas come just once a year for me? He went from the manger to the cross, and the gift took him a lifetime to give. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Issue 2

2011-11-01T23:09:00.004-04:00

I was asked to put together a brief explaining the reason for Issue 2. Issue 2 is a referendum on Ohio Senate Bill 5. SB 5 changed the Ohio Revised Code with regard to what was and was not permitted in bargaining between public employers (AKA “taxpayers”) and public employees. A “YES” vote is a vote to keep the changes. A “NO” vote is a vote to reject the changes.

SB 5 has been opposed by the unions. There are a number of important reasons for their opposition. New section 4113.80 prohibits discrimination in laying off employees. Section 4117.80 was changed to remove from collective bargaining certain items. New section 4117.081, which applies only to public schools, prohibits public schools from bargaining with unions over certain workplace rules, fixes at 85% the maximum amount the public might be required to pay for public school employee health care insurance premiums, and specifically exempts personal safety equipment from the prohibition. Section 4117.09 was changed to prohibit requiring non-union public employees to pay union dues, or to require union membership. Section 4117.26 was added to define public employee compensation as anything of value given to the employee in exchange for service.

While most private employees would see these changes as making public employee pay and benefits conform to the “real world”, the requirements that teachers agree individually in writing to pay union dues is rightly viewed as a major attack on union power. The unions have resorted to lies about what the bill contains, and many of the people who say they are opposed have simply been mislead or are otherwise ill-informed. Few of the opponents of Issue 2 will flatly admit that it challenges the feathering of their own nests.

The Official Argument and Explanation for Issue 2 (one page) can be found on the Ohio Secretary of State’s website. A synopsis of the critical changes follows; text in red has been added to (underlined) or deleted from (struck through) the existing ORC.

Sec. 4113.80. (A) As used in this section, "public employer" means the state or any agency or instrumentality of the state, and any municipal corporation, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision or any agency or instrumentality of a municipal corporation, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision.
    (B) "Age," "ancestry," "color," "disability," "military status," "national origin," "race," "religion," and "sex" have the same meanings and shall be construed in the same manner as in Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code.
    (C) When determining whether to lay off an employee as part of a reduction in force, a public employer shall not consider the race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of the employee in violation of Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code or any applicable federal law.

Sec. 4117.08. (A) All matters pertaining to wages, hours, or and terms and ~~other~~ conditions of employment ~~and the continuation, modification, or deletion of an existing provision of a collective bargaining agreement~~ are subject to collective bargaining between the public employer and the exclusive representative, except as otherwise specified in this section and ~~division (E) of~~ section ~~4117.03~~ 4117.081 of the Revised Code. Any existing provision of a collective bargaining agreement that was modified, renewed, or extended from a prior collective bargaining agreement that does not concern wages, hours, and terms and conditions shall not be a mandatory subject of collective bargaining and shall not be subject to any impasse procedure without the mutual agreement of both the public employer and exclusive representative. The inclusion of a provision in a previous collective bargaining agreement shall not be used as a basis for the provision being determined to concern wages, hours, and terms and conditions.
    (B) The following subjects are not appropriate subjects for collective bargaining:
    (1) The conduct and grading of civil service examinations, the rating of candidates, the establishment of eligible lists from the examinations, and the original appointments from the eligible lists ~~are not appropriate subjects for collective bargaining;~~
    (2) Health care benefits, except that, subject to division (E) of this section, the amount of the cost of those benefits for which a public employer and the public employees of the public employer pays is an appropriate subject of collective bargaining;
    (3) The payment of a contribution by a public employer to the public employees retirement system, the Ohio police and fire pension fund, the state teachers retirement system, the state highway patrol retirement system, or the school employees retirement system on behalf of an employee, contributor, or teacher, as applicable, that the employee, contributor, or teacher otherwise is required to pay;
    (4) The privatization of a public employer's services or contracting out of the public employer's work;
    (5) The number of employees required to be on duty or employed in any department, division, or facility of a public employer.
    (C) Unless a public employer specifically agrees otherwise in an express written provision of a collective bargaining agreement, nothing in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code impairs the right and responsibility of each public employer to:
    (1) Determine matters of inherent managerial policy which include, but are not limited to areas of discretion or policy such as the functions and programs of the public employer, standards of services, its overall budget, utilization of technology, and organizational structure;
    ~~(2) Direct, supervise, evaluate, or hire employees;~~
    ~~(3) Maintain and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of governmental operations;~~
    ~~(4) Determine the overall methods, process, means, or personnel by which governmental operations are to be conducted;~~
    ~~(5) Suspend, discipline, demote, or discharge for just cause, or lay off, transfer, assign, schedule, promote, or retain employees;~~
    ~~(6) Determine the adequacy of the work force;~~
    ~~(7) Determine the overall mission of the employer as a unit of government;~~
    ~~(8) Effectively manage the work force;~~
    ~~(9) Take actions to carry out the mission of the public employer as a governmental unit~~ Hire, discharge, transfer, suspend, or discipline employees;
    (2) Determine the number of persons required to be employed or laid off;
    (3) Determine the qualifications of employees;
    (4) Determine the starting and quitting time and the number of hours to be worked by its employees;
    (5) Make any and all reasonable rules and regulations;
    (6) Determine the work assignments of its employees;
    (7) Determine the basis for selection, retention, and promotion of employees;
    (8) Determine the type of equipment used and the sequence of work processes, except as provided in division (F) of this section;
    (9) Determine the making of technological alterations by revising either process or equipment or both, except as provided in division (F) of this section;
    (10) Determine work standards and the quality and quantity of work to be produced;
    (11) Select and locate buildings and other facilities;
    (12) Establish, expand, transfer, or consolidate work processes and facilities;
    (13) Transfer or subcontract work;
    (14) Consolidate, merge, or otherwise transfer any or all of its facilities, property processes, or work with or to any other municipal corporation or entity or effect or change in any respect the legal status, management, or responsibility of such property, facilities, processes, or work;
    (15) Terminate or eliminate all or any part of its work or facilities.
    The employer is not required to bargain on subjects reserved to the management and direction of the governmental unit ~~except as affect wages, hours, terms and conditions of employment, and the continuation, modification, or deletion of an existing provision of a collective bargaining agreement~~. A public employee or exclusive representative may raise a legitimate complaint or file a grievance based only on the violation of the express written provisions of a collective bargaining agreement.
    (D) During negotiations between a public employer and an exclusive representative, the parties shall consider, for purposes of determining the ability of the public employer to pay for any terms agreed to during collective bargaining, only the financial status of the public employer at the time period surrounding the negotiations. When determining whether the employer can pay for those terms, the parties shall consider the employer's inability to pay. The parties shall not consider either of the following when determining the ability of the public employer to pay for those terms:
    (1) Any potential future increase in the income of the public employer that would only be possible by the employer raising revenue, including, but not limited to, passing a levy or a bond issue;
    (2) The employer's ability to sell assets.
    (E) The provision of health care benefits for which the employer is required to pay more than eighty-five per cent of the cost is not an appropriate subject for collective bargaining. No public employer shall agree to a provision that requires the public employer to pay more than eighty-five per cent of the cost paid for health care benefits.
    (F) Notwithstanding division (C) of this section, equipment issues directly related to personal safety are subject to collective bargaining.

Sec. 4117.081. (A) This section applies only to school districts, educational service centers, certain conversion community schools established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code, and STEM schools established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code.
    (B) No public employer to which this section applies shall enter into a collective bargaining agreement on or after the effective date of this section that does any of the following:
    (1) Requires the public employer to employ a minimum number of total personnel or any category of personnel;
    (2) Restricts the authority of the public employer or a district or service center superintendent to assign personnel to school buildings or restricts the authority of a building principal to designate the responsibilities and workloads of personnel assigned to the building;
    (3) Establishes a maximum number of students who may be assigned to a classroom or teacher;
    (4) Prohibits the public employer from making reductions in teachers or nonteaching employees for any applicable reason specified in division (B) of section 124.321 or section 3319.17 or 3319.172 of the Revised Code or in a policy adopted under section 3319.171 of the Revised Code;
    (5) Restricts the authority of the public employer, when making personnel reductions, to determine the order of layoffs;
    (6) Restricts the authority of the public employer to acquire noneducational services from another public or private entity through competitive bidding;
    (7) Restricts the authority of the public employer to acquire any products, programs, or services pursuant to section 3313.841, 3313.842, 3313.843, or 3313.845 of the Revised Code;
    (8) Otherwise relinquishes, impairs, or restricts the managerial rights and responsibilities of the public employer described in division (C) of section 4117.08 of the Revised Code.
    (C)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2) of this section, each collective bargaining agreement entered into on or after the effective date of this section between a public employer to which this section applies and its employees shall comply with all applicable state or local laws or ordinances regarding wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment of public employees.
    (2) A collective bargaining agreement entered into on or after the effective date of this section may include a provision that conflicts with an applicable law or ordinance, if the provision establishes benefits that are less than the benefits conferred by the law or ordinance and division (A) of section 4117.10 of the Revised Code does not require that the law or ordinance prevail over the conflicting provision. Any provision of the agreement that conflicts with an applicable law or ordinance and does not meet these requirements shall be void.
    (D) Notwithstanding division (A)(5) of section 4117.11 of the Revised Code, a public employer to which this section applies is not required to, and may refuse to, collectively bargain on the continuation, modification, or termination of a provision of an existing collective bargaining agreement.

Sec. 4117.09. (A) The parties to any collective bargaining agreement shall reduce the agreement to writing and both execute it.
    (B) The agreement shall contain a provision that:
    (1) Provides for a grievance procedure which may culminate with final and binding arbitration of unresolved grievances, ~~and~~ that are based on the disputed interpretations of the express written provisions of the agreements, and which is valid and enforceable under its terms when entered into in accordance with this chapter. No publication thereof is required to make it effective. A party to the agreement may bring suits for violation of agreements or the enforcement of an award by an arbitrator in the court of common pleas of any county wherein a party resides or transacts business.
    (2) Authorizes the public employer to deduct the periodic dues, initiation fees, and assessments of members of the exclusive representative upon presentation of a written deduction authorization by the employee so long as the employee organization has filed and maintained its financial report outlining the organization's expenditures.
    (C) ~~The~~ No agreement may contain a provision that requires as a condition of employment, on or after a mutually agreed upon probationary period or sixty days following the beginning of employment, whichever is less, or the effective date of a collective bargaining agreement, whichever is later, that the employees in the unit who are not members of the employee organization pay to the employee organization a fair share fee. The arrangement does not require any employee to become a member of the employee organization, nor shall fair share fees exceed dues paid by members of the employee organization who are in the same bargaining unit. Any public employee organization representing public employees pursuant to this chapter shall prescribe an internal procedure to determine a rebate, if any, for nonmembers which conforms to federal law, provided a nonmember makes a timely demand on the employee organization. Absent arbitrary and capricious action, such determination is conclusive on the parties except that a challenge to the determination may be filed with the state employment relations board within thirty days of the determination date specifying the arbitrary or capricious nature of the determination and the board shall review the rebate determination and decide whether it was arbitrary or capricious. The deduction of a fair share fee by the public employer from the payroll check of the employee and its payment to the employee organization is automatic and does not require the written authorization of the employee. The internal rebate procedure shall provide for a rebate of expenditures in support of partisan politics or ideological causes not germaine to the work of employee organizations in the realm of collective bargaining. Any public employee who is a member of and adheres to established and traditional tenets or teachings of a bona fide religion or religious body which has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting an employee organization and which is exempt from taxation under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code shall not be required to join or financially support any employee organization as a condition of employment. Upon submission of proper proof of religious conviction to the board, the board shall declare the employee exempt from becoming a member of or financially supporting an employee organization. The employee shall be required, in lieu of the fair share fee, to pay an amount of money equal to the fair share fee to a nonreligious charitable fund exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code mutually agreed upon by the employee and the representative of the employee organization to which the employee would otherwise be required to pay the fair share fee. The employee shall furnish to the employee organization written receipts evidencing such payment, and failure to make the payment or furnish the receipts shall subject the employee to the same sanctions as would nonpayment of dues under the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
    No public employer shall agree to a provision requiring that a public employee become a member of an employee organization as a condition for securing or retaining employment. Any agreement that purports to require that employees join any exclusive representative is void and unenforceable.
    No public employer shall agree to a provision that provides for the payroll deduction for any contributions to a political action committee using any other method than the method prescribed in sections 3517.082, 3517.09, and 3599.031 of the Revised Code.
    (D) As used in this division, "teacher" means any employee of a school district certified to teach in the public schools of this state.
    The agreement may contain a provision that provides for a peer review plan under which teachers in a bargaining unit or representatives of an employee organization representing teachers may, for other teachers of the same bargaining unit or teachers whom the employee organization represents, participate in assisting, instructing, reviewing, evaluating, or appraising and make recommendations or participate in decisions with respect to the retention, discharge, renewal, or nonrenewal of, the teachers covered by a peer review plan.
    The participation of teachers or their employee organization representative in a peer review plan permitted under this division shall not be construed as an unfair labor practice under this chapter or as a violation of any other provision of law or rule adopted pursuant thereto.
    (E) No agreement shall contain an expiration date that is later than three years from the date of execution. The parties may extend any agreement, but the extensions do not affect the expiration date of the original agreement.
    (F) No public employer shall agree to a provision that requires the public employer, when a reduction in force is necessary, to use an employee's length of service as the only factor to determine whether to lay off the employee.

Sec. 4117.26. (A) As used in this section, "compensation" means wages, salary, and other earnings paid to a public employee by reason of employment. "Compensation" includes all of the following that are provided by a public employer to a public employee:
    (1) Allowances for food or drink;
    (2) Allowances or stipends for clothing;
    (3) Compensation in addition to base salary for labor performed or services rendered by the public employee, including any additional compensation paid for attending an event that occurs outside the public employee's normal work schedule;
    (4) Payments for length of service;
    (5) Allowances for dry cleaning services;
    (6) Insurance coverage, including health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, disability insurance, or life insurance;
    (7) Anything of value given to a public employee by a public employer for labor performed or services rendered by the public employee that is not generally offered to any of the public employer's employees that are not subject to a collective bargaining agreement, unless they are de minimis.

Scraping the Bottom

2011-07-11T21:45:00.005-04:00

In a lot of ways, Facebook is a fiasco. Certainly it allows contact between large groups of people, and it allows you to find long-lost acquaintances, often by chaining to other acquaintances. Of course, there are some acquaintances you would rather forget, but that is a slightly different problem ...

I need to stay more up to date via blogging. The advantage over Facebook notes is that there is less distraction from the trivia that oozes to the surface of Facebook on a constant basis. The disadvantage is missing out on the trivia. Thus, at times a disadvantage is an advantage in disguise. Next I suppose I will discuss the genius aspects of an oxymoron.

The garden is producing. Saturday I picked a pile of cucumbers -- note that I just skipped the opportunity for onomatopoetic excess -- and several tender little zucchinis. The latter I sliced into 1/2" wafers and froze on a cookie sheet, and then stored them in a baggie. Today I treated another threesome the same way.

I tried some of the bok choy a week or so ago and was disappointed, because it has failed to head the way the picture on the seed package showed. In fact, one of the plants began to bolt, so I yanked it and whacked off the top portion. On a whim, I brought the remainder into the house, not sure what I would do with it. This evening I chopped it into chunks and boiled some of it. With butter and salt and pepper it was actually acceptable.

The remainder has been cleaned and is currently in a colander waiting to go into the refrigerator. Between the cucumber salad and some Swiss chard at supper, and now this cabbage snack, I may be offsetting a good bit of the rat poison in my system. Wednesday we shall find out.

As for Uncle Emil's artifacts, I have to say that the bundle was not quite as advertised. There are some WW2 memoirs -- I think he was putting stuff together to try to write a book and basically only got as far as the outline -- and a series of letters from 1957-1959. What is there is an interesting picture of life at sea, but there is not the detail that I was hoping for to fill in the stories that Uncle Mike and Dad told. One thing is certain; Uncle Emil was a stickler for detail, and had both a flair for drama and a wicked sense of humor.

He also had the dreaded Hrubik temper. The notarized statement accompanying his official resignation of command on 24 October 1945 contains an apology for what he had "written in the heat of anger".

So I suppose I need to catalog the stuff and then create a blog page just for that. For now, I'll just post this : Capt. Emil Hrubik, on the flying bridge of his new post-war command, the S.S. William A. Henry (Matson Lines), 1946.

Pickin' 'n' Grinnin'

2011-05-30T22:08:00.003-04:00

On May 14, Jakob was in a recital at the Nervous Dog. I was able to take a video clip. Too bad I don't have a real Hi-Def camera.

Poking a Hornet's Nest

2011-05-13T16:50:00.001-04:00

The news yesterday morning carried the story that John Demjanjuk, the man known to many as the guard "Ivan the Terrible" at the Sobibor death camp for 6 months in the summer of 1943, was found guilty of the murder of over 28,000 people there.

If you recall, Demjanjuk moved to Cleveland after WW2 and became a U.S. citizen. When he was finally tracked down, he was stripped of his citizenship and deported to Israel to stand trial. The FBI stated that the evidence of his crimes came from the Soviet KGB and could not be trusted. He had lied about his past on the citizenship application, however, and the decision of the INS was just.

In Israel, at his trial, there were no witnesses who could say that Demjanjuk had actively participated in any murders. A cruel guard, yes. A murderer, no. He was convicted and sentenced to death, but the conviction was overturned on appeal when evidence pointed to a different guard.

Charges were then quickly filed in a German court. The German court has now found Demjanjuk guilty of murder -- not because he had actually killed anyone, but because he was present as a guard in the camp at the time murders were committed. His was guilt by association.

Perhaps the lesson is that people should always act according to their conscience and not follow the crowd. The Nuremberg tribunals should have had a bigger impact on our society than they did; the principle that a person is responsible for his own actions regardless of the authority issuing orders became a basic tenet of American law. That was why the courtmartial of LTC Terry Lakin, for refusing to go to Afghanistan until he was shown valid proof that President Obama was indeed Constitutionally eligible to occupy the office and act as Commander-in-Chief, was so critically important.

That same President acted on information as to the whereabouts of a man who was wanted in the United States for the murders at the World Trade Center. He ordered the SEAL team to enter Osama bin Laden's compound, and, if bin Laden resisted capture, to kill him. The SEALs were simply following their orders. An accused (and self-confessed) murderer was put to death, and it seemed that all America rejoiced.

The Constitution of the United States was a unique document, designed to protect the individual from the overly exuberant exercise of democracy. It protected the individual from searches without a warrant (4th Amendment). It protected the individual from trial for a capital crime without indictment by a grand jury, and from being forced to testify against himself (5th Amendment). It provided that an accused criminal had the right to be tried before a jury and to confront the witnesses against him (Article 3 Section 2, and 6th Amendment).

America has rejoiced over the elimination of Osama bin Laden. In other parts of the world, however, questions are being asked as to whether or not his execution was carried out legally. Congress did not declare war on bin Laden, nor on Afghanistan, nor Pakistan. No grand jury indicted him for murder. The Prime Minister of Germany stated that she was glad bin Laden was dead; a German judge has filed criminal charges against her for violating a German law forbidding the encouragement of illegal acts. Could it be that the German judge has a better grasp of American law than our own President? Could it be that in following their Commander-in-Chief's orders -- and the democratic will of the majority of Americans -- the SEAL team violated their oaths to support and defend the Constitution?

Additionally, while the Constitution made the President Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Congress alone was given the power to declare war, raise an army, and call up the militia. It was also left to Congress alone to appropriate money and designate what it would be spent on.

A second headline in yesterday's news had to do with the NATO bombing of Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, killing two journalists and their guide. Secretary of Defense Gates has said that the bombing of Libya serves no important United States interest, but that it has cost us $750,000,000. Congress has still not approved the bombing and the expenditure of the money. The American pilots flying for NATO are just following the orders of their Commander-in-Chief.

While the bombing was instigated by our NATO allies and some of the Arab League, much of the rest of the world, including the Russians and the Chinese, have been expressing their disapproval. Congress has not declared war on Libya, and no American grand jury has indicted Gaddafi of a capital crime. Could it be that the Russians have a better grasp of American law than our own President? Could it be that in following their Commander-in-Chief's orders, the American pilots have violated their oaths to support and defend the Constitution?

In the summer of 1943, John Demjanjuk never thought that his service as a guard, just following orders, would someday earn him a murder conviction. He didn't actually kill anyone. His big crime was that he was there and didn't object. Can America learn a lesson from that example? Will we someday, as a nation, stand before the Judge of the Whole Earth and answer for the fact that we were given a Constitution which we trampled under foot for the sake of revenge and self-righteousness?

Legends

2011-05-10T23:31:00.002-04:00

As a kid, I always thought Uncle Mike and Uncle Emil were somehow bigger than life. Uncle Mike was occasionally available to interact with, but Uncle Emil was mostly out to sea.

I think Dad looked up to his oldest brother with a sense of some pride -- Emil was the kid who left home for the sea, became a war hero of sorts, and ended up losing his Navy commission (as Dad told it, for refusing his orders). Somewhere around here is the photo of the ship that the Japanese torpedo bomber took out from under him in an Australian harbor; the story goes that he escaped through a porthole in his underwear, saving only his sextant.

Sunday night, while visiting Mom (Mother's day, of course) I got a call from Mixie saying that Bruce Banyai had called and would be calling back. Last night he called back. On one of his visits here we had talked about the passing of the Old Guard, the tape I had made of Mom telling of her childhood in pre-WWII Europe, and the fact that while I had finally located my grandfather's gravesite at Greenlawn, I had no idea where my Grandmother was buried. Dad had never said where, and Bruce said that Uncle Joe never talked about his childhood.

Well, the phone call was to let me know that Uncle Joe had finally talked. Bruce had set him down and recorded about 2 hours worth of video of Uncle Joe's reminiscences. That will be edited and turned into a DVD for the next reunion, whenever, wherever. But then Bruce dropped a bombshell.

It seems that after Aunt Maxine died in 2003, Uncle Joe was contacted about whether he wanted her collection of Uncle Emil's old letters, dating back to the beginning of their marriage. He accepted a large box of documents, but busy man that he always is, never took the time to look at them. Apparently several museums turned down the collection of a seaman's letters, and they were destined for the dumpster.

However, during the videoing, Bruce was asked whether he wanted to see the collection. Being the history buff that he is, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. He was surprised by what he saw; the letters were not only the letters home to a landbound wife, but also a very detailed accounting of wartime life as a Merchant Marine captain. From what I understand, it also contains a copy of his resignation letter as he refused to captain a ship he deemed unseaworthy, and a copy of the inquest into that ship's sinking several days out of port.

Bruce has asked me to archive that material. When it gets here, if it is what I think it is, a whole new blog should be devoted just to that archive. Stay tuned, don't touch that dial!

Reflections

2011-05-05T21:16:00.002-04:00

On September 11, 2001, I, with most other Americans, watched the destruction of the World Trade Center towers with the murder of 3,000 fellow citizens. The initial reaction was an altogether natural one; there was a desire to bring to justice the criminals who had financed and planned the deed. When it was determined that the Taliban in Afghanistan had been harboring Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the attack, I, too, felt the invasion of that country, to attempt his capture, was justifiable.

Ten years have passed. Not only did the United States invade Afghanistan and remove the Taliban from power temporarily (they are currently being relegitimatized within that country's government), we invaded Iraq and executed Saddam Hussein on the basis that he also had given aid and comfort to our enemies. Billions of dollars were spent in those quests, and continue to be spent in the aftermath, since there appears to be no clean way of extricating our troops from those regions without causing even greater disorder.

Thousands of American troops have been killed, and tens of thousands wounded or disabled; the human cost to America alone has dwarfed the number of deaths from the original WTC attacks. A President was vilified for not having successfully dealt with bin Laden, and his successor, who capitalized on the vilification of that President and, whose criticisms were in reality de facto accusations that the troops under his command were somehow derelict in their duty for their failure, is now being praised for the conclusion of the manhunt by those same troops.

The American public, by and large, is jubilant that the mastermind of the attacks has been brought to justice. What, however, have we wrought?

The current President has stated that America is not a Christian nation. The President's intent was to convey the Constitutional principle (1st Amendment) that the Federal government may not either support nor oppress any belief system. That statement was met with outrage by many who believed that it was an attack upon the historically based concept that the roots of our liberty, and the Constitution itself, are grounded in the Christian Reformation theology of the Founding fathers. While the President was in error if he denied the historical heritage of our government, he was absolutely correct if he referred to the everyday conduct of our national affairs.

Christianity is not a club that one joins, nor a social class into which one is born. It is a label used to describe those who would worship and follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Those followers believe that Jesus is God, who took upon Himself a human body in order to offer Himself as the payment for their violations of His Law and to restore to them the ability to enjoy His presence without experiencing guilt.

In order to forgive them, He Himself paid the penalty -- death -- for their sin. In turn, He gave them a set of orders. He said that the greatest love one could have would be expressed by a willingness to die for a friend. He said that His friends would do whatever He ordered them to do. He ordered His friends to love their enemies, to bless those who cursed them, to do good to those who hated them, and to pray for forgiveness for those who abused them. He said that people would recognize His followers by the fact that they cared for one another the very same way He cared for them, and He was executed to pay for the misdeeds of friends and enemies alike. History records that His followers were first labeled "Christians" -- a term of contempt -- in Antioch, because they were living the way He had commanded them to love.

There is great rejoicing today in America because a criminal has been brought to justice. There are expressions of satisfaction that revenge for the attacks on the Trade Center towers has been exacted. I wonder, however, how long the euphoria will last. Certainly bin Laden's friends and co-religionists will attempt retribution. Certainly, those who financed his activities have not been dealt with. Certainly, also, it is questionable whether the expense in resources and lives have been worth the quest to kill one man.

In the Spring of 2000 I knew very little of G. W. Bush. After the primaries, however, when the campaign for the Presidency was in full swing, he made a statement that his hero was Jesus Christ. After the debauchery and perjury of the Clinton years, such a statement was a welcome hint that perhaps there were still Americans with high moral standards, and the courage of conviction in the face of what was certainly hostility to such sentiments by the supporters of his opponent. In the aftermath of the Trade Center attack, Mr. Bush called for a day of prayer, and in so doing, missed what was perhaps the greatest opportunity in modern times for a world leader to make a bold statement as to the way a nation founded on Christian ideals would conduct itself.

We will never know what might have been had the President called instead for a day of fasting and repentance, as well as prayer. The blatantly immoral character of the previous administration had been a blot on the nation's history, and the looming economic recession in the late summer of 2001 was a portent of what would follow half a decade later as the result of fraudulent financial practices. The makeup of the United States government -- of the people -- has always been an accurate reflection of the people themselves.

Who knows what good things might have resulted from introspection into the nation's moral conduct, and a turning to the Christian principles from which it originally drew it's inspiration? Would the billions of dollars spent on overseas wars have found their way into improvement of America's infrastructure, and a higher quality of life for all of our people? Would the thousands of dead soldiers have contributed instead to greater domestic energy independence, or the dream of space exploration, or medical advancements? Would the innate selfishness of the Nation's budgetary process have given way to a prudent fiscal policy?

Another day set aside as the National Day of Prayer has come and gone. There are those who have ignored it out of ignorance or spite. There are those who perhaps have prayed that spiritual revival might overtake the Nation, or that some heroic figure would arise to preach, like Jonah, sermons that would bring the land to repentance. It might be good to reflect on the fact that those who were first called "Christians" were a small group of individuals that simply lived in obedience to the instructions of Jesus. They were a despised minority. They had no power, but the power of love, and through the exercise of that love, they shook the Earth.

Do not pray for the revival of the Nation unless you are willing to pray first for your own life to be changed through repentance and obedience to the teaching of Jesus; to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and forgive even those who have not the slightest remorse over the wrong they have done to you. Only through that can this great Nation be revived.

Wild Curves!!

2011-04-13T22:17:00.005-04:00

The biggest problem I have with getting motivated is getting motivated. I've been working on the kitchen cabinet doors, however, and I'm down to the last two -- the doors in the small curved cabinet by the stove.

The curved section of the cabinet has an 8-5/8" radius. Building the door with MDF, I wanted the smallest possible segments for the smoothest curve. I decided to go with 1/2" segments. Laying it out on cardboard, I was able to figure on a 1.6 degree bevel; I set the saw at 2 degrees and played with the angle until it worked.

A form needed to be built to hold the segments in place as they were glued.

I used the trammel point jig for the router to cut the curves in the form; for some reason the radius that resulted was about 1/16" smaller than it should have been so I bent some shim stock to pad the form out.

Once I had all 28 of the segments cut out, and the two edge pieces (straight sections on the ends) I glued them up and clamped them with a combination of pipe and strap clamps. Wax paper strips were used to keep the segments from sticking to the form.

After it had set for a few hours, I began sanding the exterior. The interior, however, still needs work, and maybe some glue-and-sawdust filler. I went ahead and cut the hinge pockets and mounted the hinges for a test fit.

The exterior looks pretty good at this point. I know that once it is painted it will still be easy to see each individual segment, but the curve is fairly smooth. The important part is that the chief designer thinks its just fine. Suits me.

Garden News

2011-04-05T12:34:00.008-04:00

Lettuce, red onions, cabbage, broccoli, and brussels sprouts are poking up in the greenhouse. Moved two flats of tomato and pepper seedling out there; they showed some drooping this morning. Whether it was from cold or too much water, I don't know, but I punched holes in the bottoms of the paper cups and the sun has warmed the greenhouse now. Some of the plants have stood back up.

I am seeing sprouts of a few of Dad's oxheart tomatoes -- YES! It took a long time for them to pop. Bek's Beefsteaks came up in just 3 or 4 days (fresh seed), the Rutgers and Romas took over a week (4 year old seed), but the oxhearts from 1992 took almost a month to germinate. At least I got plenty of seedlings from the 2007 jalapenos (the big ones) and wax peppers; the banana peppers are just now starting to sprout.

Put a 33 gallon black trash can full of water inside the greenhouse to act as a heat sink. We just haven't had much in the way of sunshine the last week or so.

Down 'n' Dirty

2011-03-22T22:51:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I transplanted several dozen more of the garlic starts that came out of the tops I clipped last summer. Then I stuck close to a hundred garlic cloves into the ground in a second bed -- those were some heads of garlic that my neighbor gave me last Fall and which sat in the greenhouse over Winter (they were starting to show green sprouts, so I decided to bury them). After that some carrot and parsnip seed went into another bed. Its supposed to snow tomorrow.

Inside the greenhouse the cabbage and broccoli seeds are coming up. In the basement, Bek's heirloom beefsteak tomatoes are reaching for the sky, and her giant Chinese sweet peppers are poking out of the dirt. The Sweet 100 tomatoes, the Rutgers, and the Romas are all coming out as well.

Still looking for signs of life in the pot with Dad's oxheart tomato seeds from 1992. The big wax peppers, spicy banana peppers, the big jalapenos, and the little chilis are making me wait. I expect some activity in those pots any day now.

Spring is here. Have to go make a celebration.

Hands Off Libya!

2011-03-05T11:10:00.004-05:00

In the 2000 Presidential election, I voted for George W. Bush. At the top of the list of reasons was his statement in the campaign that his hero was Jesus Christ. Such a statement, in the political climate of the time, was a bold and brave position -- it bespoke personal courage. A second reason was his avowed fiscal proposals which closely approximated my own, such as allowing private citizens to partially control their Social Security accounts, in short, granting them true ownership of their retirement funds rather than having the government hold those funds in trust. A third reason was his position on the role of the United States as a "nation-builder" -- he stated in his campaign that such activity had to come to a stop.

That last reason was one which I greatly cheered. I have always respected George Washington's view that the United States should avoid foreign entanglements. The Federal government was intended to provide a mechanism for the sovereign States to
"insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the[ir] common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity".
It was not intended as a proxy for them to wage war on other governments. I had hoped that Mr. Bush would pursue a course away from the use of American military might in an offensive capacity, particularly those actions which advanced the political will of other foreign powers. The toadying of Mr. Clinton to the European Union in countering the efforts made by an American ally in the fight against Islamic terrorism had been particularly disappointing.

The post-9/11 response of the United States was, to me, a missed opportunity. Rather than turning our gaze upon ourselves and seeking the guidance of God to react in a manner that would starkly contrast the position of a nation based on Christian principles as opposed to terrorists with Islamic principles, we sank to their level. Rather than turning to God Almighty as our protector and avenger, we, as a nation, directly disobeyed His command to not seek revenge on our own.

True, we wreaked revenge on the Taliban in Afghanistan for their support of terrorists. Nevertheless, the Taliban were not destroyed, and when American policy shifted, from winning the hearts of the people by helping them, to the surge of combat forced by those who had fixated on destroying bin Laden, we undid all the good which we had previously boasted. We are in a no-win situation in that country, desperately seeking a way out.

True, we removed Saddam Hussein from power, but into the vacuum moved more Islamic radicals, particularly those allied with the Iranian regime. Our troops are moving out of Iraq, and the "democracy" that we supposedly instituted there will quickly increase the power of the Shiite mullahs as soon as our troops are gone. However, as with all democracies, the rights and freedoms of individual Iraqis will be curtailed in favor of the will of the heathen mob.

Currently, there is pressure on the United States to "do something" militarily to intervene on behalf of the anti-government forces in Libya. The reasons given are that a number of U.S. nationals are unable to get out of that country and may be endangered by the fighting, and, besides, the oil must be kept flowing. There is also pressure on the United States to "do something" about the pirates operating out of bases in Somalia. The instant another "hot spot" develops, pressure will rise for the United States to "do something" militarily to resolve the problem. Of course, the moment any such "something" is done, our nation will be vigorously condemned by the most vocal of our enemies, and weakened by having disobeyed God.

The United States was not "built" by some other nation intervening in the affairs of the States. Our Constitution was not forced upon us by a cabal of other nations that wanted to see us free. Our liberties have been dribbled away by decades of voters apathetic to the basic problems we face, but they were gained through the mortal sacrifice of thousands of citizens who wanted to "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity". Until the peoples of other lands have that same drive and zeal, no amount of American military might can make and keep them free. We are stupid to waste our resources chasing dreams induced by the drug called pride.

What should our response be to the violence in Libya? I would say, stay out of it. U.S. military intervention will not win us any lasting friends, and in the end will not serve any national security purpose since a "democratically" elected government there will have the same attitude toward us as that of the Afghans and Iraqis. Besides, anyone caught up in the chaos in Libya was probably there mainly to assist those who oppose American policy; there were few other reasons for American nationals to be in a country which was antagonistic toward us. Let the Libyans sort it out themselves. It is the only way they will gain any lasting appreciation for their freedom once they grasp it. If American nationals want to privately take sides in the fighting over there [shades of the Spanish Civil War?], let them, but do not spend any effort to extract them when the going gets tough. Also, any attempts to prosecute that warfare on American soil should be dealt with as an ordinary crime; "freedom fighters" carrying the war to America are simply terrorists of a different stripe.

What of the Somali pirates? Our navy was created to protect American shipping, but it has no business doing the dirty work for other nations. The Constitution has the solution embedded in Article 1, Section 7 :
"To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water".
All Congress has to do is resolve that the pirates are a menace, and then start issuing hunting licenses. The sinking or recapture of the vessels used by the pirates as "mother ships" would soon make the pirates more cautious as to who they might attack, and the ability to sell the prizes would attract both investors and privateer sailors.

Our military personnel are too valuable to be used as a sop to foreign powers that want us to solve their problems for them. Under strict interpretation of the Constitution, they were intended only for defense. To the Founders, the concept of a standing army was distasteful (note the 2-year limitation on military appropriations in Article 1, Section 7); the army of King George had been a primary aggravation to the signers of the Declaration. The Constitution was a compact between the States, and the chief reliance was to be upon the Militia (again note Section 7) --
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions".
That would imply use only within the borders of our own country. The need to impose command structure on the varied elements pushed the Congress to further institutionalize the military, and with that extension of control by Congress, the tasking of our military became a political problem.

It is high time to carefully disengage our troops from overseas combat and retask them to true national defense. It is high time to cease meddling in the internal power struggles of other nations and allow them to gain their own liberty with self-respect. We have no business building other nations.

n.b. There are those who immediately raise the Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act as objections, but those laws permit use of the military for law enforcement if so authorized by Congress. The defense of our own borders does not require any change in our current laws, rather, it simply requires the will of Congress to do something. While the President serves as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, his dereliction of duty in the face of a Congressional declaration would be an act of treason. In any event, upon the President's failure to act, or the failure of Congress to act, the command of the Militia (as contrasted to the National Guard, which is part of the Army) devolves to the governor in most States.

Groundhog is Delicious

2011-02-02T09:49:00.001-05:00

Got your attention, didn't I?

It is delicious. From Al's, or homemade. Or even from the garden, say some. Filet of Phil. Just not kosher at all.

Anyway, the date reminded me that I needed to check in with the Old Farmer's Almanac to see what I should really expect for a while. You can get a free two month forecast at 2011 Long-Range Weather Forecast and filling in your ZIP code.

Then I looked at the gardening section, and found 2011 Best Planting Dates for Seeds for Wadsworth, Ohio -- you need to fill in your own ZIP code.

Then, under Plant Guide: Vegetables, Herbs, & Fruit, I found the following:
That is interesting, because I tried a variation of this last summer in my new beds, mulching the potatoes with leaves. There is also a trash-bag version of the technique being popularized by an Indian Indian. I'm leaning toward the five gallon bucket alternative.

Just think -- the tables say I should be seeding my cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, and peppers indoors in just 3 more weeks. Spring is coming, groundhog or no.

Ricin Beans

2011-01-29T12:15:00.004-05:00

The big news out of Summit County the past day or so is the FBI bust of a man in Coventry Township who was arrested "on a federal charge of illegal possession of a biological substance" (Owner of house arrested on ricin charge). The ABJ story also contains a quote from the Coventry fire chief, saying "'a very small container in the refrigerator, less than a coffee can", and a reassuring one [sarcasm is my middle name]:
Gene Nixon, Summit County health commissioner, said the substance "seemed to have been there a long time" and endangered no one.

"Relax . . . there's never been a threat," he said.
At this point, the former resident (his house is in foreclosure) who is unemployed, on Medicaid, has no assets, and had to borrow a pair of glasses to read the complaint, has a warm place to sleep and plenty to eat in a publicly run hostel [AKA jail].

The article also states that the man being arraigned had not yet been interviewed by the FBI. It fails to mention the form or quantity of the "ricin". What we are told is that the FBI received a "tip" that ricin was present in the house, and acted to seize it. We are also told,
"Scott Wilson, an FBI spokesman, would not speculate on the motive for possessing the material but ruled out terrorism as a possible use."
I once had a high regard for the FBI -- until I had need of them. In all my life I have only notified authorities once of a crime -- it was so egregious that to ignore it would be to participate, seeing that I had been engaged by one of the participants as a ploy in covering it up and facilitating it.

Several years ago I was engaged to appraise a property for a sale. The home had not been completed, and a prior appraisal had failed to take into account the value "as-is" as well as "as-complete". The loan officer readily faxed me a copy of the sales agreement, which showed a price nearly $500,000 over the list price. It also did not have the seller's signature. I requested a copy of the agreement from the real estate agent, and what she faxed me had a sales price very near the list price. The original appraisal utilized comparable sales that were completely outside the subject's market, and fully supported the price on the loan officer's bogus sales agreement. I checked on the buyer -- the internet is a valuable tool for locating people -- and found that he had a strong Middle Eastern presence. Further, the property under consideration was one which I would consider ideal for certain types of para-military training operations.

So I called my local FBI office. And left a message. And called them again. It took nearly two weeks before an agent called me back to ask more about the particulars. I told him what I had discovered; that I had black-and-white evidence of bank fraud to the tune of a half million dollars.

His advice? The sum in question was too small for the FBI to be concerned about. I should call my local Sheriff and have his fraud squad take care of it. Do I respect the power of the FBI -- their arms and technology? You betcha. Do I think they are interested at all in upholding the Constitution? You gotta be jerking my chain.

After another week of phone persuasion the Summit County Sheriff sent over a deputy with a subpoena for my file. I specified what the subpoena should request, because I did not want anyone seizing my hard drive containing my appraisal software. The deputy left with the CD containing a complete copy of my findings, my appraisal report, and the original appraisal report. I cannot turn in the fraudulent appraisal to the state regulators because the subpoena forbids me to discuss the specifics of the case with anyone, and that is as far as I take this item.

I will tell you what I think happened to the man in Coventry Township. Ricin is the active ingredient in the pulp of the castor bean. After the bean is pressed for oil, the pulp can be processed and the ricin separated through the use of electrophoresis. I doubt that this man had the technological ability to create his own electrophoresis setup, and from the sound of it, had no money to purchase commercially available equipment. Even if he had, the ability to isolate the ricin from the electrophoresis gel is a further technological step. It is highly unlikely that the substance found in the refrigerator was actually ricin in a form that could be weaponized. If it was weapons-grade ricin, the quantity needed to be effective is so large that our own military has ruled out the practicality of weaponizing it. That is why the authorities could state with confidence that there was no danger and that terrorism could be ruled out.

My guess is that the man had some castor beans in his refrigerator, holding them there to be planted in the Spring. The castor bean plant is a very common ornamental. This fits with the "very small container" description, and the vagueness in describing what was actually found. His misfortune was probably telling somebody that the beans were there and then, perhaps in a fit of Darwinian genius, informing them that such beans were what ricin was made from. Snowballs roll downhill.

This case will probably quietly go away. Lots of tax dollars will be spent in make-work for law enforcement. Osama is probably ROTFL in his cave. The terrorists have scored again, because the US government showed up to help.

Yellow Journalism : The Devil is in the Details

2011-01-27T23:26:00.003-05:00

As a grumpy old man I occasionally find myself empathizing with Elijah as he faced the prophets of Baal. One of the surest ways to twist my tail is to point me at a newspaper article where the salient facts are buried and the salacious facts are trumpeted.

Come now, let us reason together. Everyone who thinks that a convicted felon should be able to expect a jail sentence, raise your hand. Everyone who thinks that a person who lies to get a service someone else paid for is a hero, nod your head. Everyone who thinks it is acceptable to steal $30,000 for a good cause, say "Amen".

I thought so.

Do not mistake my targets. I do not wish to imply that only the reporters in the liberal press are demon-inspired. However, in the January 26, 2011 article in the Akron Beacon Journal, Kelley Williams-Bolar leaves jail but public outcry escalates, the following two statements are separated by a single paragraph :
"A jail official confirmed that Williams-Bolar, 40, was released about 10 a.m., after serving nine days of a 10-day sentence for improperly enrolling her children in Copley-Fairlawn schools."
and
"On Jan. 18, Williams-Bolar was sentenced to 10 days in jail after a jury convicted her of two felony counts of tampering with records. She also was given two years of probation and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service."
So which statement is true?

Let's recap some facts.
Williams-Bolar lives in Akron in subsidized housing where the subsidy is dependent on the number of occupants
Williams-Bolar signed affidavits both stating that her children were residents of Akron (to obtain the subsidy) and Copley Twp. (to get taxpayer provided education)
Copley-Fairlawn Schools determined that the amount of tuition stolen from the district by the deceit was about $30,000
Williams-Bolar was given opportunity to repay the stolen tuition but refused
I count three (3) commandments of the Big Ten violated: the ones that have to do with coveting, lying, and stealing. However, because Williams-Bolar is black, people like the Rev. Al Pinhead see this as a case of racial oppression, and droves of others across the country have expressed solidarity with this criminal -- "A Change.org web-based petition seeking to reduce William-Bolar's sentence on appeal had collected almost 7,000 signatures by midafternoon. 'She has been robbed of the opportunity to elevate her life and the lives of her family through her own intelligence and hard work — the alleged "American Dream," ' the petition read in part."

Bullfeathers. Certainly anyone who seeks a better set of circumstances for her children will find sympathy in the population at large. However, the fact that a supposedly "Christian" nation throws the Ten Commandments under the bus whenever they conflict with self-delusional righteousness is an indication that the "Christianity" professed by the majority is nothing but the fraud its atheistic critics claim it to be.

Let us get some things straight. God is not the author of situation ethics. It is never right to do wrong. Sin is not measured by degree; the Bible is clear that if a person offends in one point of the Law, he has broken the whole thing. The problem is not that people sin. The problem is that people refuse to confess the sin and repent. What foolishness to raise money to appeal the conviction when a better purpose would be served by raising the money to repay her debt to the taxpayers she cheated.

It is not hard to visualize a situation in which a person makes a deliberate decision to sin in order to avoid an unpleasant alternative. I fully understand that kind of situation. To claim that something is a lesser evil, however, still leaves you with an evil. To claim that the lesser evil somehow is mitigated by the situation is to despise the sacrifice of Jesus for all of our sin. The bogus Christians will read this and start looking for some big stones, because it will irritate them as greatly as Stephen's audience was irritated.

The liberal press would have you try to serve both God and self. God would have you die to self and live for Jesus Christ. The outrage that has been expressed is only a symptom of the ignorance of righteousness within the general population. Don't be a chump. Stand up for the Ten Commandments, and don't let anybody tell you they no longer count.

Liberalism = Mental Illness

2011-01-05T13:44:00.005-05:00

Liberalism has been described as a form of mental illness (Lyle H, Rossiter, Jr., MD, The Liberal Mind : The Psychological causes of Political Madness, Free World Books LLC, St. Charles IL, 2006). [n.b. There are other books out with similar titles and conclusions, but to mention them here would immediately cause manifestation of psychotic symptoms in people whom I wish to cause to think rationally.]

One of the hallmarks of the modern liberal movement has been the concept of political correctness, that is,
Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.
Being or perceived as being overconcerned with such change, often to the exclusion of other matters.
(Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Houghton Miflin Company, NY, 1997)
In attempting to redress perceived injustices, it is argued by those subscribing to the concept that censorship is good if it is controlled by people who have a more righteous mindset (i.e, similar thinking liberals).

Enter the selective use of certain words. At this point it is appropriate to postulate a null hypothesis that God did not confuse the languages at Babel to try to prevent political correctness. I welcome any and all tests which might tend to cause that null hypothesis to be rejected at, say, a confidence level of 10%. In any event, the PC (politically correct) crowd has moved with great success to take out of literature those things which they deem offensive; they specialize in tare removal (viz. Matthew 13: 24-30). That this is a good thing is possibly linked to the belief that people with sensitivity to gluten won't miss the wheat anyway.

Here we have poor Huckleberry Finn on the cutting room floor (New edition of 'Huckleberry Finn' to lose the N-word) where the term that Huck uses throughout the story to describe his friend Jim is converted to a form that is less offensive to Certain People.

Language is a means of transporting thoughts from one person's mind to the mind of another. It may be through the use of words; the term has also been logically extended to drawings (the alphabet is a type of abstract art), gestures ("body language"), actions (kisses and punches come to mind), or smells (some people are deliberately raunchy). What is most important, however, appears to be context. Pushing a person into the path of a car has a completely different meaning from pushing a person out of the path of a car -- both actions are communicating a thought by pushing, but the context makes the message.

So I would ask, what is the difference between the term that Mark Twain placed in Huck Finn's conversation, and the use of "n-word", "n*****", or some other euphemism, as used by good liberals, if the intended meaning is the same? For that matter, as a descendant of Slavs, I should be able to claim that the term "slave" needs to be banned, since it is a derogatory word that is derived from the language of my ancestors, and besides, sláva roughly translates as "glory" (moc a sláva = power and glory, or, sláva Kristu veliká = glory to Christ the great).

Further, the word "slave", which is to be used instead of "n-word" in this new PC re-write of Twain's classic is quite imprecise. The classic Latin term servus, or "slave" is the origin of our English word "servant", but servitude is broken down into both voluntary and involuntary servitude. The latter is what most people mean when they say "slavery". However, voluntary slavery -- indentured servitude -- was the means by which a substantial number of Europeans were brought to America. Thus, to be precise, if Huck's companion is to be called Slave Jim, he should really be retitled Involuntary Slave Jim to differentiate him from some immigrant Irishman of the time who would properly be called Voluntary Slave Jim.

There is another consequence to this whole flapdoodle. Let us say that another generation passes, indoctrinated in the new PC ignorance. The only people who use the "n-word" are people privileged by birth and skin color to do so. Students reading history will have the impression that the involuntary servitude of people of African descent was really not such a bad thing after all, since, based on rewritten PC literature, the slave owners politely called their slaves "Slave ***", and whenever they see the "n-word" used in a historical context, it will have been laundered to mean that the person so tagged was viewed as a fraternal comrade. So much for the corruption of history.

Indeed, liberalism is a mental illness.

All I Want for Christmas is a Kevlar Vest…

2010-12-18T00:43:00.004-05:00

How come so many people want to shoot me? Am I not the most lovable guy known to those who have met me?

I was warned that in the data collection phase, there had been some incidents in Newbury that warranted sending in a new face. For about two months I traversed that township doing the review, visiting every home (almost like Santa Claus, but no presents, and I stayed far from the chimneys). Everyone I met was either friendly or neutral, with the exception of one fellow last week who firmly insisted that I had to leave his property (he was having a war with Zoning, and anything that looked like Official Business was unwelcome). That I could live with -- the aerial photos are good enough that you do NOT want to be sunbathing when the plane flies over!

Yesterday I finished Newbury. Today I started in on the south side of Bainbridge. Things were going smoothly. I pulled into one driveway on Pettibone Road, where the sign on the garage said, "If you can read this, you are in range." I've seen plenty of those. Most of the people who post that sign are friendly as long as you knock on the door. I had a pleasant chat with the lady who answered the door -- I had to get out because her house had a deck on the back that was not on the tax card sketch -- and then drove to the next driveway.

It was one of those houses like any other house. Piece of cake. There were, however, some strange signs posted on the house. Nothing threatening, but sort of nutty. I didn't need to leave the car. I jotted a few notes on the tax card, turned around, and drove to the next house.

I was about a half mile away, maybe a half hour later, when my phone rang. It was Nedra, at the office, abrupt and hurried, "When you get to such-and-such address on Pettibone Road, do not pull into the driveway."

"I've already been there."

She sounded worried. "Don't go back, not even to turn around or do any paperwork."

"I don't plan to go back. I don't need to go back."

"The owner called and said you were trespassing on his property. He said that if you pulled into his driveway again, he would shoot you."

"I didn't even see him. All I did was pull into the driveway, take some notes, turn around, and leave." (My practice is to get out and introduce myself if anyone appears at a window or door).

"Well, don't go back. He obviously saw the signs on the car, because he knew where to call."

An hour or so later I decided to drive to McDonalds for a cup of coffee. As I passed his house, the man was at the mailbox getting his mail. He gave me a strange look as I went by. Must have left his gun at the house.

Somehow guys like that worry me a little. The fellow in Parkman who tried to chase me off his neighbor's property, threatened to call the Sheriff, and told the Sheriff's dispatcher that he should have shot me, did not seem like a real threat. He was loud and visible, and obviously his threat was in the past tense -- "I should have…". Same thing for the old farmer in Huntsburg; it came out in the course of conversation, and I took it as a joke. Somebody who would hide inside a house threatening future action is a different flavor fruitcake.

I just hope nobody else with a black car pulls into his driveway to turn around.

Maybe I need a light bar to make the car more distinct. Low profile amber lights. That would be fun. As it is, people hit their brakes when they see me sitting in a driveway.

Come to think of it, some of the Sheriff's cruisers, like the one that pulled up behind me yesterday as I sat on the roadside shuffling paper (flashers ON!) and turned on his lights before he saw the side of the car, are small and look similar to my car -- but we do have different color signage (they have gold, I have red, white, and blue) on the sides. (Bainbridge police cruisers are bigger and have white signage).

And I think that Mr. Hospitality can expect a visit from one of those black cars sometime soon. if he hasn't had one already.

***FOOTNOTE***
I wrote this last Friday, and delayed publishing it because I was uncertain what follow-up actions had been taken. I've been told a police report was filed, so its a public record now. I've also been told that the incident report shows the irate caller had a limited vocabulary but no speech impediment with respect to the "ph" sound. Anyway, the pen is mightier than the sword, and I carry a 0.7 mm semi-automatic pencil …

"Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."

2010-12-05T21:39:00.003-05:00

This morning Bro. Reini Webel took his text from Mark 2:1-12. As I listened, I was drawn to the fact that in almost every instance of Jesus' healing, a statement is made regarding the forgiveness of sins.

Let it be abundantly clear that I do not believe that illness is a punishment for sin, although it may be a consequence. There is a difference. Scripture informs us that the same event happens to both the just and the unjust.

We are told in the Gospel that the primary message of Jesus was, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." That message is predicated on the concept that all men are sinners, falling short of the righteousness of God. It is therefore no surprise (although the connection may be / has been missed by the casual reader of the Gospels) that the underlying purpose of the healing ministry of Jesus was to reinforce the idea that He was capable of forgiving sins, and, ergo, that He was God incarnate.

The discourse reads, (6) "But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, (7) 'Why does this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?'"

This was precisely the teachable moment Jesus was seeking -- (8) "And immediately when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said unto them , 'Why reason ye these things in your hearts?' [Transliterated, "You're on the right track, there, Bubbas -- only God can forgive sins."] (9) 'Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?'" ["Talk is cheap, fellas. I'll put my money where my mouth is."]

(10) "'But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins,' ["Let me show you that not only are you correct about Who can forgive sins, but you must also believe the corollary … "] (He saith to the sick of the palsy,) (11) 'I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.'"

(12) "And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed [You betcha!], and glorified God, saying, 'We never saw it on this fashion.'" ["Did you see that, Clyde? He has us over a barrel now!"]

So, you ask, what is the link between healing and faith and sickness and sin? James gives us a clue [actually, much more than a clue ] when he writes, (5:14) "Is any sick [asthenia] among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (15) and the prayer of faith shall save [ sozo, not therapeuo] the sick [kamno] , and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (16) Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

There is the nub of the problem. The sickness may not have been caused by sin, but sin is endemic to the human race. The passage in James does not refer specifically to an issue of disease (although most translators and their readers have preferred to view it that way) but could also broadly apply to any area of weakness, physical or spiritual. The emphasis is on acknowledgment of sin, confession, and repentance -- "for the Kingdom of God is at hand."

The application is as thorny today as it was twenty centuries ago, and even farther back. Jesus could have preached from 2 Chronicles 7:22-39 & 8:14 -- Solomon's plea -- that if his people would sin (he gets very specific about calamities which could cause the people to suspect that they were being punished for wrongdoing) and repent, that God would accept their prayer, maintain their cause, and grant them forgiveness -- is answered by the Lord,
"If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Unfortunately, in order to believe that forgiveness is available, that restoration to fellowship with God can be obtained, that we can be healed of whatever it is that troubles us, we must first also be willing to believe that we are in need of forgiveness.

In September 2001, the United States was already in deep trouble. Socially, morally, and economically, the nation was at a fork in the road. Then on the 11th of that month, disaster struck. The President called for a day of prayer. Unfortunately he did not call for a time of repentance.

Without doubt such an act would have been unpopular. In the common mind, people are essentially good, and when disaster strikes, the work of wicked men must be avenged. The Christian concept that all have sinned, without exception, and that it is by the grace of God that we exist -- the Divine Providence so wondrously regarded by the Founding Fathers -- has long been gone from the national conscience. A call to repentance would have been viewed by the larger part of the population (and even the rest of the world) as an admission that the World Trade Center attacks were in some way a consequence of sin.

That such a misconception could exist in the United States can be laid squarely upon those who call themselves Christians. Had the pastors and teachers in the churches been presenting the true Gospel, that ALL (without exception) have sinned, that Jesus paid with His own blood the price of our reconciliation with God, and that He continues to call all people to repentance from their sin, there might have been a willingness at the moment of need to confess the idolatry, disrespect for law, adultery, murder, theft, and covetousness that permeates our society.

Instead, there has been from the nation's pulpits tacit and even overt admiration for :
the glorification of "heroes" of all stripes,
the glorification of humanity instead of the glorification of the Creator,
civil disobedience without an expectation of personal consequences,
divorce and remarriage,
homosexual activity and heterosexual promiscuity,
abortion,
condemnation of the innocent based on statistical constructs,
authorities stealing from one group to give to another,
admiration for business practices that harm the poor and ignorant,
and the list could go on.

It is not an accident that those who are opposed to God are also opposed to God's people boldly labeling behavior that is contrary to Scripture as sin. They are thus willing to persecute believers, whether by legal or illegal means. The Church has failed in its mission in America, and can only win back the high ground through bloody martyrdom -- believers surrendering their lives that others might live.

Revival in America will come when we crave the words, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."

Slanted News -- Shilling for Obama is Fun

2010-11-20T10:39:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I read a CNN headline that said a CBS poll showed a majority of Americans favored the nude body scans and genital groping techniques that TSA is using. Within a CBS article about the poll "Poll: Do New TSA Airport Screens Go Too Far?" it was stated that "a new CBS News Poll released Monday found 81 percent of Americans think airports should use these new machines -- including a majority of both men and women, Americans of all age groups, and Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. Fifteen percent said airports should not use them."

So I looked at the polls. Not only did they show that BOTH CNN and CBS were lying, the polls have some glaring deficiencies in their design. The primary deficiency is a failure to ask if the participant actually intends to fly. If they do not, then their responses are similar to asking a well-fed American if it is morally right for starving Africans to eat an animal that is a member of an endangered species.

So here are the polls and their responses.

The CBS poll:

...and its response:

The CNN poll:

...and its response:

Obviously people who read CNN (liberals, mostly) feel differently than people who read CBS (just brain-dead sheeple, mostly).

Again, these polls (did you note CNN's disclaimer?) are silly if they do not include a breakdown of the numbers of people who actually intend to risk their lives on an airplane.

Don't fall for headlines, whether Drudge, CNN, Fox, or CBS. Read widely, take it with a spoonful of salt, and while you may have a strong dislike of Mormonism, Glenn Beck's admonition to stock up on a food cache still makes sense.

I'm going out to dig the rest of my potatoes. SEE! I USED AN "e". IN YOUR FACE, REPORTERS! POTATOE!! TOMATOE!! I'M STANDING WITH DAN QUAYLE!

Flashbacks

2010-11-16T20:00:00.002-05:00

It is wonderfully strange how the mind can leap from one thing to another faster than Superman. As I fossilize, my mind regurgitates memories in streams of the bygone, triggered by the most unlikely events.

This morning I rolled north on 21 to Montrose and at the I-77 merge it became evident that somebody had been practicing for the Darwin Award -- traffic was backed up across the Medina Road bridge. I made a quick decision to go around (knowing it was a gamble and that just patiently staying in line would eventually get me through) and exited westbound, then went north on Crystal Lake to Granger and over to Cleveland-Massilon.

Just north of the Shade Road intersection my memory was triggered by the Flower Hutch building; that used to be the site of an orchard. Then I remembered how the State Highway Patrol used to sit there to clock cars coming over the hill from the north. Then I remembered Dad driving us north to pick up the Turnpike on the way to Harrow.

The thought of the Turnpike triggered memories of other roads -- Medina Road, old Route 18, with its roller-coaster hills. Then the sudden recollection that it was only after the Turnpike opened in 1955 that we used Old 21.

Late 1950's, Dad taking us north in the old 1955 Chrysler -- the car I would learn to drive in, and which we drove back and forth from Patch Rubber Company when we worked there together. That old blue Chrysler, that ended it's career in the Demolition Derby at Barberton Speedway in 1969.

Trips to Harrow, stopping at the roadside park on Route 51 west of Elmore. The summer of 1959, when I stayed with Uncle John and Aunt Mary Miklovic and they took me to see the Brittania on it's Canadian cruise at the inauguration of the Saint Lawrence Seaway (I was intrigued by the fact that the masts had to be hinged so the yacht could pass under some of the bridges).

All triggered by the careless driving of The Unknown Motorist.

Ah, Dad. You left us 5 years ago today. Before you left, though, you made a lot of memories.

Huh? No Comment?

2010-11-04T00:29:00.002-04:00

Wonder why Google won't comment?

You Tube Yanks Islamic Cleric's Jihad Sermon Videos

Google, as a private entity, has every right to control comment on its sites. What is suspicious is the timing of this censorship.

Sick Semper Tyrannosaurus

2010-11-02T20:40:00.003-04:00

What is this plot by the British to control free speech in the United States? Undoubtedly the American media is too busy with election results to post the following:

White House Must Shut Down Hate Videos on You Tube

In it, we read that, "Baroness Neville-Jones, the security minister, called on President Barack Obama's administration to 'take down this hateful material' in cases where servers were based in the US. She said websites that 'incite cold-blooded murder' would 'categorically not be allowed in the UK'". As well, we read, "The Home Office confirmed yesterday that pressure was being put on the White House to remove the sermons. A spokesman for the US State Department would say only that it had 'significant legal authorities' to act 'where activities on the internet pose a clear threat to the public'".

Two hundred thirty some years ago 13 colonial legislatures and their armies rejected the things that would not be allowed in the UK.

Once upon a time, in a newly formed nation that styled itself The United States of America, the representatives of the people put forward a Constitution that was designed to prevent the government from having power over the people. One of the first things the young nation did was reinforce the chains on government by instituting a law that Congress -- the only authority in the United States which could legitimately pass rules for all the people of all the States -- "shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech …"

Freedom is at best an uncomfortable luxury. It requires the exercise of responsibility, both personal and communal. A free people must practice self control, and self denial, of desires to force others to view thoughts, expressions, and events in the same manner as does the majority. Personal freedom is the antithesis of democracy.

In the desire to be comfortable we, as a nation, have sunk to pitiful degradation of our liberties in that we commonly discuss what are viewed as necessary restrictions on speech. Congress has seen fit to put limits on political speech through "campaign finance reform", and on unpleasant -- perhaps humiliating or aggravating or frightening to the hearers -- speech through "regulation of hate speech". Let it be remembered that no man is free unless all are free; free to believe and express their beliefs freely no matter how offensive the expression.

The only legitimate limitation we have historically placed on the freedom of expression is the requirement that each person be responsible for his or her actions. In the Christian tradition, each individual makes the decision to carry out a good or an evil deed. "The Devil made me do it" is not a valid defense before the Judgement Seat of God, and was never held to be a valid defense by our Founding Fathers. The Paganization of America has brought us to the point where it is acceptable to think that someone or something else is responsible for a person's lack of self control.

If indeed a "spokesman for the US State Department would say only that it had 'significant legal authorities' to act 'where activities on the internet pose a clear threat to the public'", then that spokesman has committed treason against the Constitution of the United States by giving them "Aid and Comfort" (Article 4, Section 3) and needs to be punished by Congress as stated in that section. No such "significant legal authorities" exist in our Constitution.

The mutterings and screechings of Al Quaeda may be incitement to mayhem when weak-minded people listen to them. The British Members of Parliament, however, have every power under their own laws to cut off access to You Tube in Great Britain. That they are too cowardly to do so against the wishes of their constituencies is no reason for the government of the United States to violate its own charter of legitimacy.

Aunt Sue's Obituary

2010-09-28T07:02:00.003-04:00

Requiem for Rich

2010-09-16T23:57:00.001-04:00

In 1950 my Dad contracted to have a new house built at 1171 Dover Avenue in Akron. We moved there with my new baby brother John; I vaguely remember the open fields across the street. In 1952 the lot directly across from us sprouted a new house, and I met the boy who moved in there -- Richard Robart Wimer.

Rich and I became good friends. We walked to and from Schumacher School together most days. Because of Rich, I remember the elections of 1952. Rich was rooting for Stevenson, but I liked Ike. We stopped by the voting booths that used to sit near the water towers (those are long gone, even!!) and warmed ourselves next to the coal-fired heaters inside.

Summers often found us "camping out". Rich had an old army surplus wall tent that we would set up in the lot (we called it "the field") next to his house, and we would tell scary stories until we fell asleep. We occasionally rode our bikes on distant adventures, riding to Fairlawn to "Wolf Cave" in what is now the Frank Boulevard Park, or to go swimming at White Pond.

Summers also brought out all the other kids who had nothing to do. Rich and I and a few other kids on our street formed the Dover Gang. We had occasional "wars" with the Winton Gang and the Hardesty Gang, in which "wars" we lined up and threw green apples at each other. That is where I learned the magic of the applestick, which could extend my throwing range significantly.

One summer the Dover Gang joined forces with the Winton Gang and the Hardesty Gang to do battle with the Hartford gang. Somebody in the Hardesty Gang had a contraption they called a "nail machine gun" which was spring powered and would shoot nails. It was mounted on a small platform in a tree on a vacant corner lot. Since I was the smallest kid on the block, I was chosen to climb the tree and guard the gun while the others went off to hunt for the Hartford gang.

While they were gone, the lady in the house diagonally across the intersection called the police. When the cruiser arrived, I slithered down the tree and ran around the block to find the guys but they had completely disappeared. Later Rich told me that they had found the Hartford Gang and went somewhere to play baseball.

The summer between second and third grade I found a new friend -- a girl who lived a block away on Hardesty. The details of that summer are a bit fuzzy, since I was mostly into cowboys and Indians, and hunting frogs and crayfish in Mud Run where it used to run through the woods at the northeast and northwest corners of Diagonal and Hawkins. She had a girlfriend she would bring to my back yard, and they wanted to play house and telegraph. When she told us that she was moving to Toledo, I was relieved.

Too soon. As we walked to school on what was to be her last day in Akron, she announced that she wanted to kiss me good-bye. I tried to run, but Rich grabbed me -- he was a lot bigger than I was -- and held me down while she kissed me. I sat there and cried, madder about the betrayal than the kiss. Rich thought it was funny.

That was our relationship. Like brothers, mad at each other one day, and eager to share adventures the next. Then, in 1959, the Wimer family moved to Copley. Dad and Mom took us to their new house that fall, and Rich introduced me to Mike and Andy Wineberg. In a few months, our new house was under construction right across the street from the Wimer's house, and I started 9th grade at Copley in 1960. Dad had to drive me to and from school for a few weeks until we were able to move in.

Rich and Mike built a small plywood "cabin" about a hundred feet from the Barberton Reservoir, and it was frequently used by all of us for sleep-outs and as a base for overnight fishing trips or skinny-dipping parties. It was heated in winter with an old army surplus woodstove, and there were bunks built against the walls. The door had a padlock, and the window was a chunk of hinged plywood.

Rich graduated from high school in 1964 and I followed the next year. He was drafted and was sent to Viet Nam. While there, he wrote me a letter describing his work as a boat driver on the Mekong River. He also was awarded the Soldier's Medal, but he never spoke of it, and I would love to be able to find the citation.

We drifted apart. When we lived in Edmonton, Rich stopped by on his way up the Alaska Highway. He had had a breakdown, and we were able to locate a car dealership that could handle the warranty work that was needed. After we moved back here, Rich and I occasionally crossed paths, but we never really spent any significant amount of time together.

On Labor Day, Rich and his wife went camping. He was not feeling well. Things got worse, and when he got home on Wednesday, he was admitted to the hospital. Exploratory surgery was done on Thursday; the doctors found that his appendix had burst and peritonitis had destroyed him. Rich never woke up; the ventilator was disconnected last Friday morning. He will be buried tomorrow.

Farewell, old friend.

T'mater Juice

2010-09-10T21:45:00.003-04:00

Ya puts the seeds in the ground, ya transplants 'em, ya waters and weeds 'em, and God makes little green t'maters that grow up to be big red t'maters. Then ya mooshes 'em an' strains 'em an' biles 'em an' cans 'em. M-m-m-m-good!

Work to be done tomorrow.

Book-Burners R Us

2010-09-08T23:51:00.002-04:00

I'm going to go ahead and say it. Based on the commentary that I have been picking up regarding the proposed burning of a Koran by a preacher in Florida on September 11, the United States has lost the War on Terror. Because Mohammedans around the world are violently protesting that man's actions, condemnation by governments, religious leaders, ordinary citizens, and even the commander of U. S. forces in Afghanistan, due to fear of Mohammedan retaliation, has fallen on that man's head.

Without a doubt, his proposed action is designed to spit in the eye of any practicing Mohammedan. This post is probably similarly offensive; those who follow Mohammed's teachings dislike being called Mohammedans because, they reason, they are not really following Mohammed. If that confuses you, think how they must feel. But, I digress. A follower of Jesus might offend someone by virtue of doing what Jesus taught, but will not perform an action solely for the purpose of creating an offense. The preacher in Florida is being perverse.

That said, I can start unknotting my shorts.

As a Christian, I find no problem with disposing of a Bible by burning it. It is the respectful way of disposing of copies which have become unusable through wear or other damage. I understand that burning is also considered to be the proper way to respectfully dispose of worn out copies of the Torah. Burning certainly beats dumping them in the trash to be buried in a landfill.

There is another consideration, though. The Bible that I read is printed on paper. The words are visible through the medium of the ink. What I consider as the Word of God, however, transcends ink and paper and abides forever. If all the Bibles in the world were burned, I believe that God's Word would still live in His people through the agency of His Spirit. I feel embarrassed for someone whose god is so small that his words must be so jealously guarded because they might be lost if all paper copies were burned.

As an American, I find no problem with disposing of a United States flag by burning it. By law, that is the respectful way to dispose of worn out flags. I sneer (not very Christlike, but I am human) at those who so disrespectfully fly the flag in inclement weather, at night without spotlighting, from the antenna of their pickup truck, or wear it as an article of decoration. I am struck by the imbecility of those who do such things and who then rage at someone who burns a flag in protest of something or other.

The flag of the United States is the symbol of our nation; the banner of our Constitution. It has been shot to pieces on the battlefield, but the Constitution that it represents has lived on. If all the U. S. flags in the world were to be destroyed, the Constitution would live on as long as the citizens of our nation were willing to preserve it at the costs of their lives, fortunes, and honor. If the will to preserve the Constitution should die, the flag would be meaningless.

And another thing. There are a whole lot of people out there uttering nonsense about bookburning somehow being an act of repression. If I took a book from you and burned it, that might be repressive. However, if I burn my own copy of a book, how is that repressive? I am simply exercising my right to dispose of my own property. If the preacher in Florida were to take copies of the Koran from someone else and burn them, I would be first in line to tell him to end his thievery. If he goes to the store and buys a Koran and burns it, what business is that of mine or anyone else?

Let me ask another question you may never have considered. What is the respectful way to dispose of a copy of the Koran? If I have a copy I want to get rid of, and do not want what I consider to be perverted teachings to be spread about, do I throw it in the dumpster, bury it in my garden, use it instead of a Sears catalog -- or do I treat it with the same respect as a Bible or a U. S. flag, and burn it?

So the bottom line is this : what price freedom? To all the officials in our government who are more concerned with world opinion than with the right of an American to dispose of his own property, I say, shame on you. To all the generals who have forgotten that they swore to uphold the right of citizens to exercise freedom of expression, even at the cost of their lives -- and nobody forced them to take that oath -- I say, shame on you. To all those who writhe in terror at what Mohammedans might do as a result of this man's burning of his copy of the book Mohammed wrote, I say, shame on you.

You have forgotten what America is all about.

Wanted : A Wise Electorate

2010-09-04T11:18:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time there was a nation that was founded on the concept that the citizens of that country would choose people to represent them in a Congress which would meet periodically to deliberate laws pertaining to the common good of the inhabitants of the several states which formed that nation. It was a unique concept -- "We the People" would be the government; the representatives would simply find ways to avoid conflicts between the independent States that comprised the nation.

The gentlemen who cobbled that system of government together came out of a background wherein the rulers had favored one ideology over another. Those gentlemen had a common concept that there was a God who ruled in the affairs of men, but had disagreements as to the technical details as to how that was accomplished. They realized, from their own history, that any group which attained complete freedom would be tyrannical toward any other group. Thus, they agreed to limit their own freedoms in order to share common liberties.

With the passage of time, the thrill of being free diminished. "We the People" became somewhat lazy, allowing the representatives to act as independent agents on their own behalf. Additionally, there was the growth in the population of immigrant groups jealous of their own beliefs and customs, and unwilling to limit their Old World identity. Finally, there was a smug self-righteousness that expressed itself in the doctrine of "Manifest Destiny"; a doctrine rooted in the belief that ultimately the entire world must share the same type of government which "We the People" possessed, even as that form of government became warped by it own evolution.

The federalism that drove the westward expansion of the country through the use of military power also led, in the War Between the States, to the destruction of the concept of the people of each independent State ruling over its own affairs. That same self-righteous federalism then reached out beyond the continental shores to entangle "We the People" in the Spanish-American War, two World Wars, the Korean and Viet Nam Wars, and currently the Southern Asian Wars (Iraq and Afghanistan). "We the People" have forgotten that in order to be maximally free, we must limit our own freedom, and in doing so, must avoid trying to remake other nations in our own image.

If "We the People" are to regain maximal freedom, we must restore the concept that in order to be free we must subject ourselves to the basic rules of our Constitution. The wise gentlemen who drew up that document were students of human nature, well acquainted with the perverseness which dictates that individuals have the greatest freedom within small groups. To limit the possible tyranny of the Federal government, they ordered that the independent States, through appointing Senators concerned only with the interests of their own State legislatures, should have a form of veto power over the popular democracy of the Congress; the 17th Amendment needs to be repealed to restore the rights of the states to protect their own interests.

Those wise gentlemen believed that the Congressional representatives should represent only their local constituents and decreed that the "Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand"; the unconstitutional Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 must be repealed to restore the power of representative government.

Both cures will be difficult to effect. Both will require amending the Constitution. Both will be opposed by interest groups which politically and/or financially benefit from the deviations which have taken away the power of "We the People". Both are vital changes, and without them, the Union will either dissolve into open civil war, or will descend into tyranny unimagined by those gentlemen who so bravely risked their new-found freedoms in the Great Experiment.

Ahm Tarred

2010-08-31T21:47:00.002-04:00

Unfortunately, the A/C on the ZX2 is back to not-working mode. Jesse definitely thinks the clutch has to be replaced. The 90+ degree days are making it tough out there; I saw about 130 parcels yesterday but only about 90 today. Part of that was spending an hour at a horse boarding place looking for structures that were demo-ed, replaced, or simply mis-described by people in the past. The property owner was stunned to find out that there were two non-existent in-ground pools listed for his property. The saving grace was that both were given values of $0. Go figure.

So I tells ya, go on-line if you can and look up your tax card for your house. Read what somebody has said is there.

Tonight Jesse came over and tore apart Nurse Mixy's dashboard and replaced the burned out dash lights. She's been driving for over a year with no lights in the dash -- when she wanted to see how fast she was going, she would open her cell phone and read the speedometer from the glow.

Ingenuity. My kids exercise alternative strategies. Chips off the old blockhead.

Derumbler

2010-08-29T18:45:00.004-04:00

I guess the iMac can stay on 42/7 now. One thing for sure -- the Apple 20" display is much crisper than the Samsung 23" display on the Mini.

For the past several weeks the ZX2 has been making squealing/rumbling/grinding noises. Since the A/C was not working, I blamed that on the A/C clutch. Jesse, however, pointed out the other day that the water pump pulley was wobbling.

The water pump was replaced just 8 months ago, when the new timing belt was installed. Whooda thunk it would go bad so quickly? At least it was under a 1 year warranty.

So we replaced it. The engine is again quiet. And, Jesse tapped the A/C clutch with his finger, and the A/C kicked in. It is also still working. We have a few 90 degree days scheduled for this week -- the A/C should help.

iMac iSBack

2010-08-28T22:31:00.002-04:00

This afternoon I pulled the power supply out of the iMac G5 and went after the last of the capacitors that have been identified as potential troublemakers. It was the 10mf 50V part that had its leads soldered right next to a bunch of surface-mount components. Being a shaky sort of fellow at my age, I was a little afraid to stick that 1/4 inch wide 80W tip into the midst of all those nearly microscopic pieces-parts, but the job went surprisingly easily.

After putting the power supply back into the case, I plugged in the cord and was rewarded with a steady green light from the power indicator LED - the one that had been lighting up and then fading away. It stayed green, so I pressed the internal diagnostic switch and watched the next two lights take off to the accompaniment of the chime.

It's been running for about 3 hours now, and is barely warm at the top vents, fan almost inaudible. I'll leave it running overnight.

I have not been able to migrate my iCal files back -- the Mini logs into all the other machines on the local net but they can't seem to connect to the Mini. That will be the next adventure.

Bad Eggs

2010-08-27T21:43:00.004-04:00

The Biology teacher in me shakes his head, mutters, laughs a little, then shakes his head again.

Congressional hearings are to be held on the link between the Great Salmonella Egg Recall and the farms where the eggs were produced. The CEOs of the companies that produce and sell the eggs must appear before Congress to explain. Why has no one called for a Congressional investigation of the American public, questioning how it could possibly elect such morons?

OK, chicks, time for your Biology lesson review.

Subject : Birds. Birds are not people. Birds are not mammals. A bird is a super-modified winged snake, and can also be viewed as a type of warm-blooded toad with feathers.

Birds, snakes, and toads reproduce by laying eggs. Chicken eggs are unborn chickens. If your mommy and daddy gave you the "birds and bees" lecture on human reproduction, you probably have some of your facts wrong.

Human females have separate plumbing for reproduction and pooping. Human females hatch (yeah, that's a stretch, I agree) their eggs inside and the babies are laid from the front orifice. When they are finished digesting food, they poop out the waste from the back orifice -- the anus.

Chickens, however, are single-oriface critters. Their plumbing has a cloaca (Latin for sewer) which exits at their anus. When they lay an egg, they poop it out through the anus. When they finish digesting food, they poop that out through the very same anus. Disgusting as you may think that to be, it is what it is.

Therefore, people who handle chicken eggs carelessly, or eat them raw or even inadequately cooked, subject themselves to potential danger. That fact is understood by every little kid that grew up on a farm. It is understood by every informed adult. It is not understood by Congresscritters. Anything coming out of a chicken's anus is likely to be contaminated. Simple common sense.

One final word. This post will undoubtedly earn me some fan mail about using the word "poop". Too bad. It is a perfectly good English word, and when it is used, there is no mistaking what is meant. If "poop" offends you that badly, try going a few days without it.

Now I know I'm in trouble...

Simplifying...

2010-08-22T20:00:00.002-04:00

We will now see how well this works. I added the button for posting this blog to Facebook. Rather than logging in there to see what is going on, I'll just hit the button when I think I have something important to say. Or not so important. Whatever. Then anybody who sees it on Facebook can email me or write a comment if they are so moved. Arrogance on my part, I will admit, but I really do need to cut down on the frittering away of my time.

Late August

2010-08-21T19:30:00.002-04:00

I have to admit that FaceBook is addictive. It is a very good way to keep in touch with oodles of poodles. Unfortunately, it is also a fantastic way to waste time as you read all the news you really didn't need to know.

I set up the FaceBook account as a means of reaching out during my primary campaign for Congress. However, as noted above, it has turned into a time consumer, and ultimately has made me less productive in terms of articulating my ideas. Ha! We are now all less intelligent due to my use of FaceBook -- contagious stupidity has struck.

So, since there is now a FaceBook app that allows blog posts to show up, what I propose to do is severely limit my FaceBook visits and instead spend more time with this blog and with hRubik's hRramblings.

Update time. I have not been able to spend any additional time working on the Speedex. The swarm of bees weakened and has died out; that has me puzzled, but I think part of the problem was a leaky feeder and attacks by robber bees. I did spend some time on the raised beds; that should pay off in seasons to come.

The iMac is still in the morgue, very dead, but I have hopes for its resurrection. Meanwhile, a new Mac Mini has been doing the work, displaying to a 23" Samsung HDTV. That is a very sweet combination.

It is raining right now -- a steady, thorough soaking rain, the first like this we have had in weeks. In fact, it has very much the feel of a fall rain. Even though it is late August, the leaves have been starting to turn. The days have been hot, but the nights very cool; tomatoes have had trouble ripening.

Stay tuned for more.

Good Medicine

2010-06-01T21:03:00.013-04:00

Last time, we left the hive to drink the potion. Opening it up two days later, we see that for the most part, they have ignored the syrup for fresh nectar that is available all over the countryside. Still, they have been sampling the special hooch...

...but we need to provide more ventilation, and the mite treatment needs to be added. Taking off the feeder and the inner cover, its obvious that the crew is at home.

I found a partial package of Apistan™ in my bee supplies; I'm going to try using that package up before I open the new one. It has been cool, dark, and dry in the closet, so the strips should still be OK. One strip is in the lower left corner, between the frame bars, and the other toward the upper right. The bees come into contact with the strip, and the Varroa mites die.

Since this colony is small to begin with, and the queen is going to be laying at top speed, treatment right now is critical. The mites attack the larvae; by the time they have matured, it would be too late to treat. It will be almost three weeks before the new workers emerge, and the older workers -- the original swarm -- will be weakening and starting to die off. If too many of the new bees have "crooked wing" because of the mites, the colony will not be able to maintain itself.

A different inner cover has been modified with screened holes for ventilation. It is hard to get too much air flow through the hive. As the bees bring in nectar, they change it to wax, for the comb cells, and honey. In the process, huge amounts of water need to be evaporated. If the moisture cannot be vented quickly enough, the result will be sick bees. Even in winter, air flow is critical. The colony can maintain 95°F around the queen in sub-zero temperatures, but must vent the moisture that is produced.

Everything is back together and its work, work, work as usual.

The Doctor is IN

2010-05-29T13:26:00.006-04:00

Thursday morning Jesse called, asking if I was willing to pick up a swarm in Tallmadge. I was, but it would have to wait until evening; that was OK with the swarmees. About 7:30 PM I arrived at the site. The swarm was roughly the size of a big football, clinging to a chemical tank about six feet off the ground. I had a super stapled to a bottom board with a screen in the opening; I sprinkled some sugar on the top frame bars and brushed the ladies into the box. Most of them went in like a waterfall. A small group, about the size of a baseball, refused to play, and after checking thoroughly that the Boss Lady was not in their midst, I left them there to die. Nothing else to be done for it.

Arriving at home, I waited until almost dark, then pulled the screen from the entry. In the morning, the little buzzers got themselves oriented to their new location, and went nectar-hunting. Yesterday I noticed that there were some Nasty Bugs around; I watched one yellow-jacket go into the hive and then beat a quick retreat. I grabbed an entrance reducer and closed down the doorway.

This morning I headed out to Queen Right Colonies, where Denzil sold me some Apistan™ for the mites and some Fumagilin-B™ for nosema. Just under $50 for vet supplies. Imagine what the cost might be if I were running feeder cattle again!

I decided to start the feeding right away to build up the hive numbers, so I mixed up a half-gallon of sugar syrup with a half teaspoon of the antibiotic and set up the feeder. Opening the top, the bees were clustered to one side. Not a whole lot of them home -- it was a small swarm -- but my guesstimate is that at least half of them were out foraging at the time of the portrait.

A piece of baseboard was chosen as a riser for the feeder. The relief cutout on the back will allow some air flow for cooling, at least until the bees plug it up. The feeder is a plastic mayo jar with some 1/16" holes drilled in the lid, and works like a poultry waterer.

Tomorrow or Monday I'll open it back up to check the syrup level and at the same time install two of the mite strips.

Its good to bee back in operation. I'm going to do my best to keep this harem happy.

Speedex S19 Project

2010-05-17T23:01:00.006-04:00

It was time already to get the old Speedex out of the shed and get to work on restoring it.

It's a neat little tractor, with all kinds of real tractor features.

The Lawn Chief towed it to the top of the hill, flat front tires and all.

The front hitch point, where I hope to be able to attach the snow plow in winter.

The 8 horse Briggs 190407 engine, with its 12V electric starter. Mice packed the space behind the flywheel with maple seeds, and possibly messed up the wiring to the capacitor. I cleaned out as much as I could, added a new muffler, replaced the gas line, and drained and replaced the oil. Wouldn't start. No spark at all.

Here's the PTO linkage, in case I want to add a mower deck or use a sickle bar.

The rear hitch -- a sort of three-point arrangement. It is a manual lift, though. No hydraulics on this machine.

The gearbox and rear pulleys. These are terribly misaligned. But then, so are the front pulleys. Replacing and aligning the sheaves ought to be simple, and I'll need to create a replacement belt cover and battery cover. I've already straightened some of the sheet metal on the hood.

As this project moves forward, I'll post more pix of the progress. Main thing for right now is to get it running.

Spoke Too Soon

2010-05-09T15:39:00.002-04:00

iMac just when "Ptht" and turned black. The restart was quick and smooth, so it has to be the MOBO caps this time. Ah, well. One item at a time. I have the MOBO caps here already -- they only cost $12.00 plus shipping.

Ah, It Feels Good!

2010-05-09T15:23:00.002-04:00

It took long enough to get all the pieces together, but the iMac G5 is back up and running -- very quietly, I might add, with less fan noise than when it was new! -- for $3.95 in parts and a lot of frustrated work getting the lead-free solder to melt in the capacitor removal phase. It took hours of work to get those little thingies out, and about a half hour to solder in all the new caps. With 60-40 lead-tin solder, of course. Lead-free is for masochists.

Still have to remove and replace all the caps on the motherboard, but the power supply seems rock-solid right now. I'm looking for a narrower tip for the Weller 80W iron; 3/8" is simply too wide when you are working in close proximity to surface mount components.

Gotta get inside the Bondi Blue iMac's upper case and check to see if it was the same kind of problem.

Yip-yip-yippee!!

Pieces Arriving...

2010-05-06T20:20:00.002-04:00

The order from Computek arrived today. Also an email from Allied saying they shipped today.

Took the Bondi Bue iMac mostly apart last night, but then decided I'd better quit while I was ahead since the instructions I was following were on-line and the lightning was a-flashin' outside. Sure 'nuff, I was mostly back together when the power went out for a second.

I'll try again later. I am really curious if that machine died due to a capacitor problem in its power supply.

Gettin' It Together

2010-05-04T23:27:00.003-04:00

Today I took a little trip down to PhilCap to see if they had the caps I need for the iMac repair. They had one - a 10mF 50V 5x11mm -- for $1.64. Back home, I started looking for a cap supplier on-line, and stumbled across Allied Electronics. The prices were right, and the cap manufacturer that predominated was Illinois Capacitor. I ordered enough to do 2 "C" style power supplies, including another 10mF 50V 5x11mm for $0.11. Live and learn.

The order from Allied came to $9.76 plus $5.00 handling plus they will charge OH sales tax and probably about $6 for Priority Mail. Then I went to the Computek site and ordered the motherboard caps. Needed 25, but had to order 40 (minimum 20 of each type), which came to $28.55 including shipping and handling.

Picked up the Artic Silver Ceramique heat sink compound at Radio Shack for $6.70. I decided not to use lead-free solder on the installation; I have lots of 60-40 resin core in my toolbox. I'm ready to go when the caps get here.

The power supply is sitting on my desk, disassembled. Last night I whittled away all the silicone goop that Apple injected around the capacitors. They are ready to be extracted.

Maybe by the weekend I can be back up and running.

New Post

2010-05-01T17:42:00.002-04:00

I thought I needed a catchy title for this post; there it is.

Progress on the iMac is nearly non-existent. Lots of other stuff to do. I miss having that machine running 24/7, with Mail open and Firefox just a click away. Not having access to iCal and Quicken is definitely inconvenient.

Bought a new soldering iron at Ace Hardware today. They kindly sent me a coupon to take $5 off any purchase over $20, so I used it. Its a Weller 80W with a 3/8" chisel tip, develops 900 degrees. That should be plenty of heat for the led-free solder on the boards.

Now I think I should also pick up a de-soldering iron from Radio Shack, and practice with it.

Still have not ordered the capacitors. I may be able to find some of them at the Shack or at PhilCap; if they don't have them, there are some on-line sources that have what I'll need. I did not order from J West Sales because they will accept payment only through Google checkout. Since I have no desire to give Google the right to run a credit report on me -- my credit is none of their nosy business -- I'll just find the parts elsewhere and use the normal payment process.

Fixed one lawnmower today. Tore apart the carb, cleaned everything out, and installed a new carb cable. Fixed the shredder (sort of). Tore off the head, scraped out all the carbon and cleaned the valves, and it starts easily and runs fine. Needs some major welding on the other parts, though.

'Nuff fer this post. Iff'n I write any more, the borer bees might get into it.

iMac Blues

2010-04-17T23:17:00.005-04:00

My iMac G5 was purchased as a refurb from Apple, and it was a good thing that I bought the 3-year extended service plan. Almost immediately it had to be worked on; the Superdrive was refusing to read/write DVDs. Some time later, the computer died, and the power supply had to be replaced. Finally, just before the 3 years was up, it died again, and once again, the power supply was replaced. A few months ago (back last Fall), it suffered a hard drive crash, and I installed a new hard drive.

We've had a number of brief power outages, and several weeks ago I called home and the phone rang continuously; the fax modem did not pick up. Sure enough, when I got in, the iMac was dark. Following SOP, I tried a restart. After the chime, the Apple came up, and then suddenly the machine shut down. I tried again. The second time, the desktop picture came up, but there were funny squiggly lines across it, and when I clicked on a widget, the machine crashed. The third startup seemed stable, and the machine ran for several days before it began having problems again.

Diagnostic testing using the diagnostic LEDs seemed to point to the power supply again. I started looking for a replacement on-line. Then I came across a site which described fixing the power supply. It also had instruction for repair of the motherboard.

It seems that Apple, and a number of other manufacturers, in looking for a cheap supply of capacitors, had bought from a Chi-Com manufacturer that had cranked out defective units. The problem is so widespread that there are distributors on-line which sell replacement capacitors specifically to tackle this problem.

I now have the instructions for the fix, and started collecting the necessary tools. Here are some shots of the problem:

Motherboard, showing bulging caps (red marker added by me)

The bulging is evident here and in the next picture

While only 2 caps appear to be damaged, the advice is to replace all 25 of them.

The real problem, probably the cause of the failure of the MOB caps, was in the power supply :

Here you can see that one of the caps is leaking. That is NOT marker on the top of that capacitor; it is capacitor juice. 8 of the 11 are bulging

The scorch marks on the PS cover show how hot this got.

The cost of replacement capacitors is about $60. The cost of a replacement motherboard and power supply is more than the value of the computer (well over $700). I picked up a T-10 Torx security bit today (for opening the "No user serviceable parts inside"), and I'll be getting an 80W soldering iron. One supplier I found sells the caps for about 50 cents each, but you have to order in multiples of 20, and that supplier doesn't carry all the caps for the power supply.

For anybody with a 17", 20", or 24" iMac (Intel versions as well), sooner or later you will need to either replace the power supply or replace its capacitors. I'm curious now whether that was the problem in Maria's G3 Blueberry iMac. When I'm feeling real fixy I'll have to peek inside that one. It would make a nice email machine for Granny.

25 Cents Worth

2010-03-24T20:28:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the quarter-century mark for my flapper. I can only thank God that He worked things out the way He did. Spent the evening splitting more of that black locust firewood. Wow.

Dis'n'Dat

2010-03-15T22:44:00.003-04:00

Granny is coming home Thursday
Planted onions, cabbage, broccoli, and some more lettuce in the greenhouse Saturday
Started soaking some of Dad's old (1992) pepper seeds in HOHO (that was Bruce's suggestion, that HOHO would possibly provide extra O to break dormancy); they have swelled up and I need to get them in potting soil

What a Turkey!

2010-03-05T23:16:00.003-05:00

Yesterday (3-4-2010), by a 23-22 vote, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved sending House Resolution 252, "Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution" to the House floor for a vote by the full House.

As a result of this action, the government of Turkey has recalled its ambassador Turkey recalls envoy to U.S. over panel's 'genocide' vote. The Turks, who once went under the name "Ottoman Empire", and who butchered their way into the heart of Europe, are unhappy that their actions against the Armenians in the early 20th Century could possibly be censured by the Representatives of the American People.

So unhappy are they, that they have resorted to threats. It seems, however, that you have to read foreign newspapers to find out what is going on over there Ankara warns of 'consequences'
"Turkey warned the Obama administration on Friday of negative diplomatic consequences if it fails to impede a US resolution branding the World War I-era killing of Armenians as genocide.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his country, a key Muslim ally of the US, would assess what measures it would take, adding that the issue was a matter of "honor" for Ankara."

...

"Davutoglu said the Obama administration had not put sufficient weight behind efforts to block the vote and called on Washington to do more to prevent the measure from now going to the full House.

The measure was approved at a time when Washington is expected to press Turkey to back sanctions against Iran to be approved in the UN Security Council, where Turkey currently holds a rotating seat. Turkish cooperation is also important to US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also at stake are defense contracts. Turkey is an important market for US defense companies, many of which had lobbied against the measure."
News reports in this country have told of the Turkish unhappiness, but the JPost article was the first I had seen that contained the revelation that the Turks simply do not understand how the United States government works.

The President is the representative of the United States. The Congressman from each district is the representative of the people of his State. When an American points to a President and says, "He's not my President, in a certain sense of the phrase, he is correct. The President is simply one citizen among equals, not a king or dictator. Because of this, there is often a sense of anger when a President attempts to tell Congress what to do.

Maybe the Turks should get a history book and look up the "XYZ Affair". Ha! Maybe some Americans should do the same. We may not be the most diplomatic people in the world, as some nations consider diplomacy, but we do tend to react as Charles Pinckney is said to have done when the French tried to interfere in American policy by asking for a bribe to avoid war, "Millions for defense, sir, but not one cent for tribute."

It takes a Turkey to try to influence the representatives of the American people by threatening the President of the United States. The real question is whether this President is anything at all like John Adams.

Spring is Coming

2010-03-02T09:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was able to get into the greenhouse for the first time since the beginning of the year. Had to shovel away almost a foot of snow from in front of the door; in spite of the melting the snow is still piled around the sides from where it slid off, and the door had been blocked by several feet of snow that had accumulated through normal snowfall plus drifting.

Outside, it was barely above freezing. Inside, the temperature was a balmy 56 degrees. The lettuce I planted in the Fall with a hope of having fresh greens at Christmas seems to have survived. We shall see. In a day or so I maybe there will be some new growth, I hope, and then perhaps there will be home-grown salad for Easter.

The sweet basil and pepper plants that were left over the winter need to be cleaned out and the soil improved with some manure and lime in preparation for planting.

I need to get a thermometer with a probe in order to take the soil temperature a few inches down. It is March; time to seed onions, cabbage, broccoli, some more lettuce...

Any more suggestions as to what I should try to grow in there?

Amendment Four

2010-02-28T23:49:00.003-05:00

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

The Fourth Amendment was a reaction of the Founding Fathers to police power abuses that allowed public officials to invade private homes to search for items which might be used to incriminate the owners or other occupants. It has been the subject of fierce debate between those who style themselves the champions of personal rights, and those who claim that it has been overly broadly used to coddle criminals.

A major concern is that Fourth Amendment rights are widely misunderstood or even waived; the authority to search can be given to public officials by default if a citizen does not understand where to draw the line. Those close to me know that I often deride and mock the ACLU and its liberal friends, but I recommend several resources that they have made available on-line : BUSTED: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters (FlexYourRights.org), Don't Talk to Cops, Part 1 (Professor James Duane, Regent Law School), and Don't Talk to Cops, Part 2 (Officer George Bruch, Norfolk VA Police Dept.).

The multitude of laws on the books has created a situation where it is nearly impossible for a citizen to avoid breaking one of them. It is not far from the truth to say that the primary cause of crime in the United States is Congress (or, your State legislature, or city council, etc.). In Ohio, it is against the law for a driver to pass another car without giving an audible signal; if you are an Ohio driver, do you blow the horn every time you pass a car on the Interstate? If not, you are breaking the law. That may sound ridiculous, but it is true. When the law was written, there were no multi-lane highways, and the situation was not anticipated. You will not, however, be arrested for that violation unless the cop you just passed has had a really bad day. In fact, if you use your horn while traveling between the sound barriers in a residential area, you might be arrested for breaking the law against disturbing the peace as you comply with the traffic law.

That exposes the crux of the problem. There are so many laws, many of which conflict with others, that if the police were to do their job, by the book, we would all be in jail and traffic would still be backed up from last week as we waited for our tickets to be written out. Thus, the police tend to look the other way (in violation of their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and the laws of their State) simply because it is impractical to enforce every law. They tend to use their discretion when deciding who to stop and question, and consequently, casual encounters with the police sometimes inadvertently turn into arresting events.

The operative phrase is "unreasonable searches and seizures". So what is a "reasonable" excuse for a search or seizure? The courts have held that if an officer has "probable cause" to think that a crime has been, is being, or is about to be committed, that can be "reasonable". The ability of police to carry out such searches is crucial to our security, especially in view of the possibility of terrorist acts being committed among our midst, and great care must be exercised in limiting their ability to do their job. The danger is that law enforcement officers are just as subjective as the rest of the citizenry, and their perception of an activity may influence their judgment as to probable cause. Coupled with the power of the badge, citizens may unwittingly yield their rights.

There are those who would say, "So what? If you have nothing to hide, why be afraid of a search?" I can think of two reasons immediately. The first is the insult that accrues to being accused of illegal activity by virtue of coming under suspicion because of another individual's perceptions. In times when personal honor was more highly valued, such an accusation would have precipitated violence, possibly a duel to the death. Indeed, that may be the reason why some individuals even today react angrily to such an accusation.

The second reason has to do with the multiplicity of laws created by people who try to force perfection on a human society. Nanny-state governance always takes away freedom from the individual and is usually excused as being "the will of the majority". The person whose unique dreams and desires are crushed by the imposition of democracy will no doubt call it the "tyranny of the majority".

One of the possible partial solutions to the problem is to simply not make so many things illegal. The idea of being secure in "persons, houses, papers, and effects" is strongest in a society where individual liberties have not been restricted. Sometimes those liberties may offend our sensibilities, sometimes they may outrage us, sometimes the liberty that another person has may reduce our own ability to make a monetary gain, and sometimes that liberty may give an individual the opportunity to hurt himself. Freedom is always obtained by the destruction of the power of an oppressor, and often is held at the peril of the possessor.

I believe that the most reasonable way to strengthen and preserve our rights under the Fourth Amendment would be a systematic culling of outdated laws, and repealing of laws which restrict personal liberties. When government requires a citizen to participate in a program, or attempts to protect a person from his/her own actions, or provides relief for the consequences of foolish actions, it ultimately paves the way for the surrender of basic Constitutional rights.

It was pointed out by a reviewer that the examples I cited above were local and State laws, and that there are Federal laws which also need to be reviewed and, if not modified to fit the times and possibly redesigned to be flexible as society's needs change, repealed. These include :
"hate crimes" laws of all sorts, which create a degree of criminality based on what an accuser believes a criminal's intent to be,
tax laws which create special "tax courts" not bound by ordinary rules of evidence and procedure,
any and all laws, whether civil or criminal, in which the accused must pay for his/her legal defense, even if found innocent,
portions of the Davis-Bacon Act, which allow the Secretary of Labor to arbitrarily set the "prevailing wage", and which clearly violate Amendments One and Fourteen, and
portions (or the entirety) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which assumes that all business owners are guilty of corruption until they can prove themselves innocent.
Many of these laws were passed as knee-jerk reactions to special interests, and are examples of why a representative republic with limited opportunity to change the law is preferable to a democracy in which emotions allow mob rule to create repressive conditions for not only a minority at one point in time, but for the whole of society over a long period.

It is my hope that in some way I could be instrumental in repealing Federal legislation that unduly restricts the rights of citizens to "be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects".

Amendment Three

2010-02-18T23:25:00.001-05:00

"No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

Very few Americans give thought to this amendment, yet its origin lay in the practice of the British military to conscript civilian housing for its soldiers. The Declaration of Independence complains,
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
and because the Congress had the power to both declare war and raise an army, the States were concerned that the abuses they had suffered before could be repeated.

While this amendment to our Constitution may seem unnecessary today, it is a reminder of our history and the reasons why the Founding Fathers were willing to risk their lives, fortunes, and honor for the cause of freedom. It is one more restriction on the government, and the more tightly the government is bound, the less likely it will hurt the people.

Amendment Two

2010-02-14T23:19:00.003-05:00

As free Englishmen, the American colonists could point to a history in which local yeomen were called upon for defense of their towns and for mutual aid when disasters struck. They were the frontline of homeland security, foreign wars being largely the province of knights, nobility, and conscripted serfs.

When the United States came into being, the inhabitants of the States were concerned with being able to defend themselves from attack by a hostile power to the north -- British Canada. Previous to its absorption by the British Empire, that region, as French Canada, had also been a dangerous enemy. American history courses tend to minimize coverage of that time period.

There was also an enemy to the west. One of the reasons specifically given for the Declaration of Independence was the failure of George III to protect the colonies from Indian attack:
"He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions."
From the time of the Pequot War (1635), through the French and Indian War (1763), and on until almost the beginning of the 20th Century, the frontier was a dangerous place where no man, unarmed, could feel safe.

Finally, after independence had been gained from Great Britain, there was also the danger of interstate warfare : a classic case is the Toledo War, in which the Michigan Militia occupied the City of Toledo, Ohio. Thus the States were unwilling to ratify any document which would take away their rights to maintain a militia. The militia was to be at the service of the State governor, and had traditionally been recruited from the general populace and with officers chosen by the troops themselves.

Article I of the Constitution gives to the Congress specific powers, among which are:
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;"
This, however, was not completely satisfactory to some of the more exposed frontier States. It was objected to by several of the States which claimed that it contained no prohibition on Congress disarming the militias, and the Bill of Rights contained a specific amendment which supersedes that portion of Article I :
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
In District of Columbia v. Heller, No. 07-290 the Supreme Court held 5-4 that the Second Amendment provided for the personal keeping and bearing of arms, stating in the majority opinion,
"...the enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table. These include the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home. Undoubtedly some think that the Second Amendment is outmoded in a society where our standing army is the pride of our Nation, where well-trained police forces provide personal security, and where gun violence is a serious problem. That is perhaps debatable, but what is not debatable is that it is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct."
and in response to part of the minority dissent, which focused on both the preconceived notions of courts in settled case law, and the perceived need by some of the Justices for the SCOTUS to interpret the Constitution in view of current fads and whims, further stated,
"A constitutional guarantee subject to future judges’ assessments of its usefulness is no constitutional guarantee at all. Constitutional rights are enshrined with the scope they were understood to have when the people adopted them, whether or not future legislatures or (yes) even future judges think that scope too broad. We would not apply an “interest-balancing” approach to the prohibition of a peaceful neo-Nazi march through Skokie. See National Socialist Party of America v. Skokie, 432 U. S. 43 (1977) (per curiam). The First Amendment contains the freedom-of-speech guarantee that the people ratified, which included exceptions for obscenity, libel, and disclosure of state secrets, but not for the expression of extremely unpopular and wrong-headed views. The Second Amendment is no different."
While I agree with the conclusion of the Court that the Second Amendment guarantees to the individual the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense and sport, I am dismayed that in all the scholarship the construction of the Amendment itself has been misconstrued.

In every accurate transcription of the Second Amendment, there are three commas. Commas are used to set off appositives, noun phrases which identify or define a preceding noun or noun phrase, and the Second Amendment clearly has two appositives. This was pointed out to me through simple sentence diagramming (remember high school English?). "A well regulated Militia" is defined by the Amendment as both "being necessary to the security of a free State" and also as "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms". The concern of the dissenting States was the possibility that the Congress would refuse to support the State militias. The clear intent of the Amendment is "A well regulated Militia shall not be infringed."

Thus the majority opinion of the Court in District of Columbia v. Heller was correct, but based on a faulty reading of the Amendment text. I believe that the Second Amendment establishes an absolute right of the individual (who is the functional unit of any militia) to keep and bear any weapon, without restraint by Congress, and therefore by extension, without restraint by any governmental body in the United States.

Thus, as per the quote by Thomas Jefferson in the previous post with respect to Amendment One, the government's interest in this matter can only legitimately concern itself with an individual's actions.

Amendment One

2010-02-05T22:23:00.004-05:00

Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press;
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is unique. No other nation limits the powers of its government to regulate the free expression of the people to such an extent. People refer to this amendment's provisions as the rights to freedom of the press, and of speech, but the broader implications of this restriction on Congress are often overlooked.

The Constitution of the United States was designed to protect the rights of the people and the States from encroachment by the Union. The oft cited letter of Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists provides a window into the thinking of the Founding Fathers.

The fear of repression by the State of minor sects was expressed by the Danbury Baptists thusly [emphasis is mine]:

"Our sentiments are uniformly on the side of religious liberty: that Religion is at all times and places a matter between God and individuals, that no man ought to suffer in name, person, or effects on account of his religious opinions, [and] that the legitimate power of civil government extends no further than to punish the man who works ill to his neighbor. But sir, our constitution of government is not specific. Our ancient charter, together with the laws made coincident therewith, were adapted as the basis of our government at the time of our revolution. And such has been our laws and usages, and such still are, [so] that Religion is considered as the first object of Legislation, and therefore what religious privileges we enjoy (as a minor part of the State) we enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights. And these favors we receive at the expense of such degrading acknowledgments, as are inconsistent with the rights of freemen. It is not to be wondered at therefore, if those who seek after power and gain, under the pretense of government and Religion, should reproach their fellow men, [or] should reproach their Chief Magistrate, as an enemy of religion, law, and good order, because he will not, dares not, assume the prerogative of Jehovah and make laws to govern the Kingdom of Christ. " (Danbury Baptist Association, 10-7-1801)

To which Jefferson replied,

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties." (T. Jefferson, 1-1-1802, Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists).

Note that Jefferson's comment about "separation between Church & State" is an afterthought to his insistence that government should not interfere in the rights of the people to express themselves, and is not a restriction on those rights, as was asserted by the Supreme Court in Reynolds v. United States (1878). [For an interesting discussion, see A Wall of Separation].

As to social duties, he wrote, "Every man is under the natural duty of contributing to the necessities of the society; and this is all the laws should enforce on him." --Thomas Jefferson to Francis Gilmer, 1816. His position appears to be that the natural rights of man, those freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution, make the accomplishing of the social duties possible.

The Founders were well aware of the history of abuses by government toward religious observance, and specifically included the ban on prohibiting the free exercise of religious faith. Many of the European immigrants to the United States have made their pilgrimage because they suffered persecution by the "State Church", or officially recognized religious sect, of their homeland. The nation of Switzerland, vaunted as a pioneer in "democracy", is still a prime example of a European nation which boasts of religious freedom, but which taxes its citizens to subsidize the three recognized major sects.

In the early 1800's, S. H. Frohlich, a Swiss anabaptist leader who suffered intense persecution by the official State church, wrote his treatise Matrimony According to the Word of God. In it he explained why government has no business regulating marriage; while he probably never read Jefferson's writings, he would have undoubtedly agreed with Jefferson's position respecting the First Amendment to our Constitution.

One of the great dangers of democracy is the tendency of a majority to tyrannize a minority, especially in regard to belief systems and practices. The Constitution of the United States thus is specific about protecting personal expression from government. It is for this reason that I oppose all legislation that attempts to criminalize speech, whether in the form of "hate speech", or restrictions on personal opinion in political campaigns. Such legislation clearly violates the First Amendment. I stand with Jefferson in the sentiment, that "the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions".

Uncle Samson

2010-02-04T22:26:00.002-05:00

The story of Samson is not just a historical tale, but is a parable for students of human nature. If you recall, Samson was a hero of faith, chosen by God from before birth to guide and protect his fellow citizens. Because he was the biggest and baddest dude in town, he took advantage of his natural abilities and lived life to the full. His tale is full of fabulous escapades; he was the unstoppable hero of his day.

Enter Delilah. Samson knew she worked for the Philistines, and he delighted in toying with the danger. He was God's man, even when he didn't act like it. He knew in his heart that he was unstoppable, because no matter how dim the prospects, Samson had always won in the end.

Eventually Samson told Delilah his secret. He no longer took seriously the special calling he had from God. While he slept on her knees, she shaved his head. Then she did what she had done several times before -- she woke him with the news that he was under attack.

Samson jumped up, ready to do his hero thing once again. The story tells us, "He didn't realize that the gift from the LORD had been withdrawn." [Yes, I know that's a loose paraphrase, but so is my whole telling of the tale.] His enemies poked out his eyes, and put him to work as a slave.

The Founding Fathers, though they differed among themselves in exactly what they believed, all had a staunch faith that God (or as some of them put it, following the pattern of John Calvin, Divine Providence) had taken an interest in their fledgling country. He had brought it through the War for Independence, and in their minds, had commissioned them to launch a Union with a backbone of law -- a Republic, with equal justice under the law, and chains upon the government to keep it from eating the peoples' freedoms.

Over 200 years have passed since that Union was launched with ratification of the Constitution by the first 9 States. The Union has grown to 50, and the Constitution has been amended 27 times. Some of the amendments -- the first 10, and numbers 13-15, 19 and 26, have clarified the rights of individuals under the law. Some, like the 16th and 17th, which permitted the imposition of taxes on individuals and made possible the control of elections by national political parties, have had serious unintended consequences.

Like Samson, Uncle Sam has grown careless about his special calling. Our Congress has flirted with an attractive prostitute, the foreign investors on whom it has relied to finance living life to the full. The people trusted Congress with the national credit card, and Congress has run up the bill so high that it cannot be paid in our lifetimes, nor in the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren. It has mortgaged us to the tune of $12,400,000,000,000 -- yes, 12.4 million million dollars -- and is at this moment considering raising its credit limit another 1.9 million million dollars.

The interest alone, paid on T-bills in the first 3 months of fiscal year 2010, was $145,000,000,000. As the risk of our default rises (we are spending much faster than we are taking in tax dollars), the interest rate demanded by our foreign creditors must rise. Our spending, except for national defense, and maintenance of our obligations to our Social Security system, must be frozen in order to avoid financial catastrophe, slavery, and war.

There are those who believe that Uncle Sam can simply wake up, and like Samson, say, "I will go out as at other times before, and find a way out of this mess." They do not realize the depth of the problem. Like Samson, they refuse to face the reality that because of our lack of good stewardship, the gift from the LORD has been withdrawn.

There are those who think that our current situation is similar to that which was faced in the Great Depression. They are wrong. In the Great Depression, we were our own creditors. In this Super Depression, we owe our mortgage to the Chinese and other foreign creditors.

In the very near future, life in America will change drastically. As a Union, we may or may not survive. Will we trade California, or Alaska, or the Pacific Northwest, to escape our mortgage and avoid war with China? On our present course, we cannot pay what we owe. Historically, the Masters of China have shown no compunction when it comes to enslaving hundreds of millions of their own citizens, or even killing tens of millions at a time.

We cannot go back to what used to be, and we have never gone this way before. God is calling America to repentance. Will we return to following our Constitution, or will we sleep in the lap of our Delilah until the Philistines are at the door?

Over or Under?

2010-01-30T09:13:00.004-05:00

I found this press release while exercising my rights as a capitalist:

How Does America Roll?

You can even voice your opinion. And I have marked iCal so that January 27th is a recurring holiday.

Diagramming the 2nd

2010-01-28T22:04:00.005-05:00

Joonyah says that the problem with liberals is that they have forgotten their Basic English. He has submitted this example, which you will never see in a public school :

I think it would make a neat T-shirt, but woe to the child who wears it to English class.

For those who have forgotten, the diagram clearly points out that the militia is
necessary to the security of a free state, is
defined as the right of the people to keep and bear arms, and
cannot be infringed by Congress.

Since the 2nd Amendment was passed subsequent to the ratification of the Constitution by the original 9 States, it clearly supersedes the powers enumerated in Article 1, Section 8 and the prohibition with respect to troops in Article 1, Section 10.

Regarding Roe v. Wade

2010-01-27T21:22:00.006-05:00

It is not possible to know in advance what sorts of legislative challenges will face the Congress in 2011 and forward, and therefore to set out numerous specific promises of action risks opening the door to the disappointment of the voters who anticipate a given set of behaviors.

My position with respect to the Constitution is this : at the age of 17, and several times thereafter, I gave my word that I would uphold that document and defend it from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. I intend to stay true to my word. There are those who claim that the Constitution is a document which must be interpreted in view of changing times, but I strongly disagree, for the freedoms from government oppression outlined in that document can only change if the definition of freedom itself is altered.

I have outlined in brief a number of points which I will endeavor to uphold. Some of those may be subject to minor flexibility, since I do not claim to have already formulated the optimal solutions to all problems facing the United States. I fully intend to faithfully represent those who will have chosen me to represent their interests, and I expect that at times they and I will have differences of opinion; should I be in opposition to the desires of a majority of my constituents, they may expect a strong personal protest before I carry out their wishes against my own judgment.

There are, however, several positions upon which I intend to stand resolute regardless the desires of the majority of those whom I represent. These are the protection of the unborn, the end of deficit spending by the United States, and the right of the people to know in advance what their representatives are deciding for them.

I will not vote for any legislation which includes Federal funding for abortions. It is my belief that life begins at conception, and, that once begun, a life should not be ended by men without conviction of a capital crime under due process of law. That is a religious and moral belief, and runs counter to the religious belief utilized by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade when it arbitrarily decided that life begins for the unborn some 55 days after conception.

In deciding that case, the Court stated,
"The appellee and certain amici argue that the fetus is a 'person' within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In support of this, they outline at length and in detail the well known facts of fetal development. If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the Amendment."

Then, rejecting the implications of personhood 'within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment', the majority of the Court proclaimed,
"...the word 'person', as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn."

To which Justice Rehnquist rebutted in his dissent,
"To reach its result, the Court necessarily has had to find within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment a right that was apparently completely unknown to the drafters of the Amendment. As early as 1821, the first state law dealing directly with abortion was enacted by the Connecticut Legislature. By the time of the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, there were at least 36 laws enacted by state or territorial legislatures limiting abortion. While many States have amended or updated their laws, 21 of the laws on the books in 1868 remain in effect today. Indeed, the Texas statute struck down today was, as the majority notes, first enacted in 1857 and 'has remained substantially unchanged to the present time.'

There apparently was no question concerning the validity of this provision or of any of the other state statutes when the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted. The only conclusion possible from this history is that the drafters did not intend to have the Fourteenth Amendment withdraw from the States the power to legislate with respect to this matter."

The majority of the Court, however, preferred to abandon the republican guarantees of legal impartiality for the democratic dogma that the few must obey the many, and that might makes right, claiming,
"There has always been strong support for the view that life does not begin until live birth. This was the belief of the Stoics. It appears to be the predominant, though not the unanimous, attitude of the Jewish faith. It may be taken to represent also the position of a large segment of the Protestant community, insofar as that can be ascertained; organized groups that have taken a formal position on the abortion issue have generally regarded abortion as a matter for the conscience of the individual and her family. As we have noted, the common law found greater significance in quickening. Physicians and their scientific colleagues have regarded that event with less interest and have tended to focus either upon conception, upon live birth, or upon the interim point at which the fetus becomes 'viable', that is, potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid."
...
"In view of all this, we do not agree that, by adopting one theory of life, Texas may override the rights of the pregnant woman that are at stake."
...
"With respect to the State's important and legitimate interest in the health of the mother, the 'compelling point', in the light of present medical knowledge, is at approximately the end of the first trimester. This is so because of the now-established medical fact, referred to above at 149, that, until the end of the first trimester mortality in abortion may be less than mortality in normal childbirth."
...
"With respect to the State's important and legitimate interest in potential life, the 'compelling' point is at viability. This is so because the fetus then presumably has the capability of meaningful life outside the mother's womb. State regulation protective of fetal life after viability thus has both logical and biological justifications. If the State is interested in protecting fetal life after viability, it may go so far as to proscribe abortion during that period, except when it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother."

Based on the Court's own decision and the advances that have occurred in medical practice in the 37+ years that have passed since the decision, it has been the fault of the State legislatures and attorneys general that no new legislation protecting the unborn from murder has been passed and successfully withstood court challenge. With the ability of science to bring an unborn child to term outside the womb, and the relatively rare occasion when physicians cannot rescue both mother and child in the event of complications, the day will soon arrive (if it is not already here) when the State may, meeting the requirements of the Roe v. Wade decision, proscribe abortion at any stage of development of the child "except when it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother."

The Court's position of continued support for Roe v. Wade is strangely paralleled with that of the Catholic Church v. Galileo; when the Law attempts to regulate scientific or technological matters, it invariably ends up looking foolish.

In any event, the Court has held that it is the responsibility of the States and not the Congress to regulate abortion. I will not support any legislation which takes from the States that responsibility, and I will absolutely not support any Federal funding for abortion.

53

2010-01-25T23:09:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Steph!!

...!!!51!!!...

2010-01-24T19:09:00.000-05:00

43

2010-01-23T23:23:00.001-05:00

31

2010-01-21T22:10:00.002-05:00

This week has been hectic (do I hear an echo?), with a push to finish some of my work, Work Night at church, and tonight, company for dinner. Thankfully, there are some dedicated volunteers out there doing my job for me. That is why the numbers are increasing.

The problem of voter disenfranchisement in Ohio.

A major hindrance to getting petition signatures on nominating petitions is fulfilling the signature requirements sections of the ORC. From the 2010 Candidate Guide, for US Representative (p5) :

Signature Requirements (R.C. 3513.05, 3513.257):

1. Major party candidates: 50 signatures
2. Minor party candidates: 25 signatures
3. Independent candidates: Based on the number of votes cast in the
congressional district in the last general election for governor:

Number of votes cast: Number of signatures:
Fewer than 5,000 25, or a number equal to
5 percent of the vote
(whichever is less)
5,000 or more 1 percent of vote

and (p19) :

Petitions for a candidate for party nomination must be signed and circulated by persons who are members of the same political party as the candidate. (R.C. 3513.05)

What we are finding frustrating in a small way is the number of people who agree with my positions, but who were disillusioned by the choices they had in previous primaries and opted to vote an issues-only ballot in those elections. By doing so, they de-registered themselves from any party affiliation, and they are not eligible to sign a party petition.

This is reasonable, since the parties themselves exist for their own benefit, and it would be ridiculous to allow people who did not share the same platform viewpoints to take part in choosing the candidates for the election. Open primaries may seem like a very egalitarian thing, but the party primary system was designed as a way for large groups of like-minded people -- the parties -- to make decisions among themselves. The decision-making process would be corrupted by including people who might have a vested interest in weakening the party's position.

Nevertheless, Ohio law needs to be amended to enfranchise those who wish to be able to have input at the base level of politics. There should be no difference in the requirements for major party, minor party, or independent candidates. This would allow presentation at the time of the general election of a slate of candidates that would cover a wide range of position options. The resistance to such a plan comes from the parties themselves, because their power to control the electoral process would be diluted by such an open arrangement.

Impetus for change will not come from the Legislature, since it is dominated by the Republican and Democrat Parties. Change will only come from an initiative by the people, and working groups to produce such initiatives should be started, using blogging sites as 21st Century "taverns" for modern patriots to gather in, for discussion and refining of the process.

21

2010-01-20T21:37:00.001-05:00

16

2010-01-20T06:59:00.001-05:00

13

2010-01-18T22:35:00.000-05:00

Makin' yer mark

2010-01-17T22:03:00.003-05:00

It has been a hectic week, but the petition signing is under way. Between wrapping up a work project, and the death and funeral of Carl Demiter, there was no time to spend on the petitions.

It would be possible to get the entire 50 signature complement from one ward in Norton, but hopefully we can get signatures from other areas as well. It would be nice to be able to file by the end of this next week.

Have to be careful what I write here from now on, lest I run afoul of McCain-Feingold. There are too many laws designed to keep power out of the hands of the people.

Stai tooned.

Gotta Run...

2010-01-06T22:26:00.003-05:00

Picked up a petition pack yesterday at the Summit BOE. Looking for 50 registered Republicans in OH-13 to get the show rolling.

Some quickie points :
** No Federal support for abortion. I will campaign to eliminate all Federal spending that contributes to the murder of the unborn.

** No deficit spending. Period. If the money isn't there, I don't plan to vote for the bill.

** No corporate bailouts. I will not vote for corporate welfare.

** National defense means just that. No revenge campaigns, and no mercenary activity on behalf of the United Nations. Put a defense shield over the country and let each State upgrade its Militia. Secure our borders. I will not vote for foreign adventurism by the United States military, but I will not stand in the way of protecting United States shipping and passenger transportation.

** No foreign aid. If citizens of the United States want to fund a foreign government, that is their business. Millions for defense if needed, but not one tax penny for foreign entities, including the United Nations. Any citizen who wants to donate his own money to the UN is free to do so. I will not vote for foreign aid to any nation.

** Remove from the Federal Reserve banks the power to print money. I will support legislation to require complete auditing and accountability to the Congress of the Federal Reserve system.

** Repeal Amendment 16. Bill the States for the cost of maintenance of the Government of the United States in proportion to their populations as stipulated in Article 1, Section 9. Each State should be free to tax its citizens as they deem appropriate in order to meet its Federal obligations.

** Repeal Amendment 17. Restore the ability of the States to resist the power of private national political parties.

** End Federal interference in education. I will not vote for any legislation which restricts or diminishes the rights of parents to seek out and obtain the best education for their children which they can afford. I fully support the right of each State to determine the best way to provide for the education of the children residing in their respective States.

** I will not vote for any bill that has not been exposed to public examination, without alteration or amendment, for 72 hours prior to the vote. Each time any such bill is scheduled for a vote and is amended, I will require an additional 72 hour public examination period before I consider voting for it.

While some of the above positions may seem radical and hard to imagine in practice, it should be remembered that the Great Experiment in government that is the United States was considered radical and impractical when it began, and is difficult even to this day for the inhabitants of other lands to imagine and understand. My goal is the encouragement of individual freedom and the growth of the entrepreneurial spirit in all facets of American society.

No doubt there will be many people who are frightened by the specter of freedom. Nevertheless, I offer a clear choice for those who believe in the dream of America.

Hard Drive

2010-01-03T20:43:00.004-05:00

It happened. The dreaded hard drive crash. The iMac suddenly was lost in its own case.

I was able to access the drive in target mode and update my August backup of most of my files. The I tried to let TechTool repair the drive. The repair failed. So I tried to do a reinstall of the system software. The reinstall failed with the upgrade to Tiger; installed could not find some disk sectors. Bad drive, failed its physical.

Ooops. Forgot to do a recent backup of the Quicken data. Too bad, so sad.

Off to Best Buy for a replacement. A 500Gb WD Caviar Green. $75.

The instructions on the Apple Support page were simple enough. Out came the 160Gb Seagate, in went the 500Gb WD. Into Disk Utility to do a partition - 160Gb Avram, 160 Gb Yitzhak, remainder in Yakov.

In go the system CDs. Now for the fun of setting up, then updating to Tiger (I will NOT be upgrading to Leopard, because there is no Classic support in Leopard and I like some of the Classic apps). Then all the hastle of rebuiding the important files from the backups. Oh, joy.

Moral : a backup external hard drive is a good investment.

Moral : if you have it, use it.

Gittin' the Runs

2010-01-01T15:09:00.002-05:00

As 2009 ran out its string and 2010 crawled out of its crevice, Joonyah and I shot the breeze, lamenting the trampling of the Constitution by the current Congress. We again tossed around the question of who might represent OH-13; that is, who might be in the running to raise the moral and intellectual quality of the occupant of that seat.

We did a little exploratory work. Visiting the sites of all four Boards of Elections in OH-13 (Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, and Summit) revealed that no candidates had filed for 2010 yet. That is OK; the deadline for filing for the May 4, 2010 party primaries is February 18, 2010. For independent candidates, the filing deadline is May 3, 2010 (because independents don't have a primary).

Looking at the FEC requirements, an individual is not considered a candidate (even if he has filed the petition and is on the primary ballot) until he (or [a] person[s] authorized by the individual) has[ve] raised of spent more than $5000 for the campaign. There is a provision for voluntary registration with the FEC even if the $5000 threshold has not been attained, but the possibility exists (although highly unlikely) that a candidate could be elected to a Federal office without tripping the requirements. Posting the information we have uncovered on this blog, because no formal efforts have been made toward candidacy to date, is a sort of grey area that may or may not fall under 11 CFR 100.94 & 100.155.

The Ohio Administrative Code, (111-1) states, "The rules set forth in Chapters 111-1 to 111-6 of the Administrative Code shall apply to the nomination or election of candidates or support for or opposition to ballot issues in state and local elections. Nothing in these rules shall be construed as limiting or regulating federal elections, and those committees, parties, candidates, or funds when they participate in such federal elections." I would assume from that statement that only FEC requirements would apply (and as with any such assumption, I could be wrong).

If I were to run, would it be as a party candidate? Yes, for two reasons. Firstly, I have been republican in my leanings my entire life. A republican form of government was to be guaranteed to all the States under the Constitution, and a respect for the Rule of Law is essential to the maintenance of individual liberty. While other forms of government may extend individual rights, no other form of government protects individual rights.

Secondly, the regulations for access to US Representative candidacy in Ohio state that a major party candidate needs 50 signatures to have access to the ballot, a minor party candidate needs 25 signatures, but a non-party candidate needs signatures totaling 1% of the number of votes cast in the district in the last general election for governor. Looking at the stats for the 13th District, there were 297,680 votes cast for Representative, and assuming that about the same number voted for governor, the minimum number of signatures required for an Independent candidate to access the ballot in OH-13 would be about 3,000. In Norton 1-B there are just over 100 registered Republican voters; it would be possible to access the ballot as a Republican for the 13th District, covering parts of 4 counties, without even leaving my own precinct to gather petition signatures.

Of course, there is always the tantalizing challenge of running an illegal campaign (WhatifI) under the guise of Libertarianism.

"See, here is deep water, what doeth let me to jump in?" [calm down, that is a paraphrase]. When I last ran for Congress in the 13th District (2000), the situation was quite similar. Just before Thanksgiving of 1999, Mickey Axlebender Thirdson and I were bemoaning the fact that no Republican candidate had yet appeared to challenge the Democrat incumbent. He said that if I ran, he would manage my campaign. I stopped at the BOE, picked up a petition packet, and off we went. In about two weeks time, we had our signatures. With a total expenditure of about $300 (never even made it onto the FEC's radar screen), and with the Summit GOP endorsing my party primary opponent, I picked up 42% of the primary vote. In fact, a part of Stark County was in the District back then, and the SOS's stats show that I actually won -- quite handily -- in the Stark County portion of the District. [But, mind you, Stark County is vastly more conservative in its politics than Summit!!]. Thus, I have no doubt that my governmental views would resonate with a substantial portion of the electorate in the 2010 climate.

However, the run in 2000 did cause some discomfort for my Better Half, who was concerned over family privacy issues and the exposition created by a political campaign. Thus, my first concern is her consent. She has said that I can do whatever I want, and such a statement has dangerous undertones. I would prefer to have her support, indeed, I need her support. She willingly complied and followed me thousands of miles in previous attempts to joust at windmills, but in those days we were both a lot younger and more resilient.

Another concern is the support of my church. In 2000, I had the support and encouragement of most of the Elders I talked with, but my responsibilities at that time were quite different. I don't doubt that I would have the encouragement of the congregation, but the bigger question is whether or not it would be to their benefit.

Finally, there are the career considerations. I am on my way toward General Certification and new levels of accomplishment in my profession. Despite my age, I could be productive for another decade or more before senility rotted my cognitive functions. Becoming a US Representative would likely be a terminal career move.

Stay tuned, this is only the first day of 2010.

CoCo RULES!!

2009-12-27T21:58:00.004-05:00

Earlier today I got an email from Boisy Pitre, one of my on-line friends who develops Mac software, and as a hobby, supports our common interest, the Tandy Color Computer running NitrOS-9 (which is an operating system very similar to UNIX and Linux -- many very similar commands in the shell -- but which was designed to run in a 64kB space under the Motorola 68B09E processor). He wrote to the CoCoList:

Aside from Aaron [Wolfe], Jim [Hathaway] and I attempting this (with slightly buggy software), this is probably a first.

If you want to play around with NitrOS-9/6309 Level 2, then telnet to my system. I have tsmon running on ports t0-t6, although t0 isn't working for some reason. That leaves 6 ports that can be in use simultaneously.

Press ENTER when connected. You should see the tsmon login prompt, though depending on how other users disconnected, you may see a shell prompt when you press ENTER.

To get to it:

telnet aes.dyndns.org 6809

Good luck and please let me know how it works.
--
Boisy G. Pitre
http://www.tee-boy.com/

So, I fired up the x11 terminal on my iMac, and did this:

Kewl, sez I! Notice my error because it has been so long since I did any file creation in the shell (a decade and a half is a l-o-o-o-o-ng time!).

Telnet connection to a shell on a remote 8-bit machine with six simultaneous users. That used to only be possible on the same wire in the same building. The CoCo enters the 21st Century.

Time Out

2009-12-19T22:39:00.003-05:00

I decided to do something a little different for our anniversary this year so I booked a little get-away at the Deer Creek Bed and Breakfast in Litchfield. It s a nice place to relax : two-person jetted tub in the suite, hot tub and heated pool in the greenhouse. We opted not to use the hot tub or pool, and just stayed in the room. I ran some hot water in the tub, we got in, turned on the jets, and for about a half hour enjoyed the turbulence.

Hot water massage by candlelight, and a basket of snacks with a complimentary bottle of champagne for reserving the room by calling the owner directly rather than going through bedandbreakfast.com. Which happens to be a really terrible website -- it doesn't present the terms and conditions of use until after you start inputting your credit card info, and it won't let you print out a copy to keep. (Yeah, yeah, I know I could grab a screen shot but when I'm paying, I want to dictate the conditions.) So there I sat naked by the tub, eating Aldi potato chips and sipping pink champagne, while pondering the incongruity of it all. If you don't like the picture, change the channel.

In the morning they served us a great breakfast; grapefruit, coffee, I had eggs and bacon with fried red potatoes and toast whilst VJ had waffles.

Then we headed south to Lodi Station Outlets to purchase some intimate apparel, and finally further south to Mansfield for the Christmas get-together. Joonyah fried a turkey. It was good, but I have a feeling that deep-frying the bird in oil may leach out some of the embalming fluid the birds are basted with; I think that roasting them in the turkey bag keeps in the precious liqueurs.

And then home again. Good night.

Chappy Chanukkah?

2009-12-12T20:12:00.004-05:00

Well, I laughed.

Sister Time

2009-12-03T22:46:00.003-05:00

Of course I took a picture. It wouldn't have been right not to.

Sue Hlavac, Katie Pohanka, Annie Hrubik, Mary Miklovic
...the surviving Cipkar sisters...
...aging gracefully...

Bittersweet

2009-11-29T20:38:00.003-05:00

Having put away the turkey, we trekked north to the Land of Fabled Health Care. We saw Aunt Sue, who didn't quite remember who I was at first (being 91 may have some disadvantages), and then Aunt Mary, who seemed resigned to her fate as prisoner in a nursing home. She looked well and appeared to be adequately taken care of. Uncle George was our host for Friday and Saturday nights; and Cuzzin Willie threw a spectacular bash (he is becoming famous for that!) Saturday night, complete with his traditional roast pig.

The weekend did have its somber spots. Saturday afternoon was the funeral for Helen Varga, and in the evening, we met Sybil and Serena Kamasz after the testimonies at church. Sybil stunned us with the news (news to us, at least) that Gus had passed away 10 months ago to the day.

Gus Kamasz I counted as one of those people who was a "straight arrow". He immigrated to Canada from Communist Hungary as a young man, and while his English always had something of an accent, he was meticulous about his word usage and pronunciation. Like my father-in-law, he was scornful of those who were born in this country (or Canada) and were ignorant of proper English grammar. However, he had an extremely compassionate side reserved for those who were victims of misfortune and were in need of instruction and assistance. Gus and I got along famously. We could have significant disagreements and still talk and work together as brothers. We saw each other only a few times after he moved his family to Kitchener, and we moved back to Ohio, but I will miss him nonetheless. Sybil said he went out to get the snowblower from the garage, started it and put it in the driveway, came into the house to sit down for a moment, and asked her to keep an eye on it. She began to walk toward the door, heard a coughing sound from him, turned around, and he was gone. January 28, 2009.

Finally, this weekend gave me a chance to meet some more family. The Hrubik Boys from Glozan, at the turn of the last century (1900), were Paul, Mike, and John. Mike and John each had sons they named Carl (Karol). Dad corresponded with his cousin, Karol; Karol had a son (also Karol) and a daughter, Rose. I had met Rose's daughter, Caroline, many years ago, but this morning I met Rose. I also met Karol's grandson (Rose's nephew) Vladimir Hrubik, who had emailed me back in September asking me to read his new book, "When They Say Peace, Seek Shelter". So here's a plug for his book, which I have not yet read (although Willie says he has read the first chapter and part of the second but just has not had time to finish it). It's available at Amazon, Google, Barns & Noble, Author House and others.

At lunch, we sat with John and Susie Stajfer (Susie is Mom's cousin, daughter of Steve Cipkar Sr.). John's mother was a Miklovic (ah -- is Jaroslav lurking?) and I told them about the blog comments and emails I had had from both "Miklovic" and "K_C34". John said he didn't know too much about the Miklovic side of the family; he claimed he had tried to talk to his uncles at a family picnic in Cleveland years ago but the old folks suspected the younger ones of being Bolsheviks and wouldn't have too much to do with them. However, shortly after lunch, someone tapped me on the back and, when I turned around, asked if I knew who she was. She announced that she was Kathy Cipkar -- John and Susie were standing there with her, with big smiles on their faces. Kathy is K_C34's mother. We had an interesting chat.

'Nuff gossip. Time to catch some z's. Work to do tomorrow.

'Tis the Season

2009-11-27T11:00:00.002-05:00

The commercialization of Christmas has always been troubling to me. It has been my experience that picking out gifts for people is difficult, maybe because of my practical side, but I'm always thinking about what someone might need or even use as opposed to just buying something and shoving it at them because it is expected at this time of year. Maybe that statement came out a bit raw, but the following article by George Will sort of hit my hot button :

Scroogenomics

However, my greater concern this season (as in the past several since the economic contraction began) is not so much the spending of money on senseless items, but the fact that people invariably borrow to do so. Coupled with recent notices by credit card companies to their customers that rates are going to be rising sharply (Capital One, for example, will be applying a 39.9% rate to some of its customers, and most card companies have put people -- even their best customers -- on notice that they can expect charges ranging from 19.9% - 29.9% on ordinary balances), the December bash will unhappily become a February surprise for many of these people. The great deals that people are rushing to embrace, paying with plastic today (Black Friday), will turn out to be ulcer-makers down the road.

The ultimate effect on consumer ability to spend will kick in some time in the Spring of 2010, as people struggle to pay for Christmas 2009. Consumer confidence and ability to spend are key to economic recovery, and I see a rocky road ahead.

Thinking Inside the Box

2009-11-07T09:09:00.003-05:00

Don't spend too much time thinking "inside the box".
You will have plenty of time for that later.

Big Hal

2009-10-28T20:07:00.002-04:00

I left a few pepper plants inside the greenhouse when I transplanted everything else outside. They are still growing and blooming while their siblings have died and gone to compost heaven. One of the jalapeno pepper plants produced some VERY large fruit :

These were meaty, which I find to be a typical jalapeno trait, and not at all hot except in the immediate vicinity of the seeds. Maybe next summer I can work on this strain some more.

Clearly an Improvement

2009-10-19T20:55:00.008-04:00

When I built the Cloudyhouse, I covered it with clear polyethylene film, intending to replace it annually due to it not being UV resistant. The covering was put on at the end of March;

unfortunately, by the beginning of July it looked like this :

So, I sprang for a dozen sheets of corrugated polycarbonate that is supposed to be UV resistant. In the process, new framing members had to be installed. It now looks like this :

No longer a cloudyhouse is it. It still needs some weatherstripping added, and then some clear silicone caulk. There are still some peppers inside that are ripening (slowly), and I need to plant one last batch of lettuce to see if I can have some greens until Christmas. As cold as it has been, though, I have my doubts. Maybe I can start onions and cabbages in February -- we'll see!

The N_B_L Prize

2009-10-09T23:44:00.002-04:00

I've heard tell that Biblical Hebrew has no vowels. I learned today that the President of the World won a prize for talking about Hope and Change. The N_B_L Prize. I looked it up in the Bible. I Samuel 25:25. 'Nuff said.

Today's twisty thinking looped around the commonality of fraud in our society. Strangely enough, the sequence of neuronal activity began with a statement by a spokesman for someone whom I respect quite a bit for his clear insight into spiritual matters. The statement that "For a gift of any amount we will send you ..." triggered musing about fraudulent activity by those who purport that honesty is the only policy they will subscribe to.

I realize that the writing of books is a serious and time consuming process, and I fully respect the concept of wanting to be paid for one's labors. I also respect and defend the idea that a person may sell his property for any amount which the market might bear, or even give it away, as he so chooses. While I have not sent that particular person any "gifts", I have sent donations to other such entities (without any expectation of a "gift" in return), and have received a receipt from the donee for tax deduction purposes.

IRS regulations require that when claiming a deduction for a charitable or other non-profit or political contribution, if any item of value has been received in return, the Fair Market Value of that item must be disclosed on the receipt, and only the amount of the donation greater than the value of the item given to the donor can be claimed as a deductible contribution. Well and good.

That Fair Market Value can often be easily established because the item returned to the donor as a gift is an item regularly sold by the donee. In any event, by IRS standards, a "gift" that is received in return for a solicited "contribution" of money is an exchange. Any amount above the Market Price of the item is then recognized by the IRS as a contribution. However, if the exchange takes place on acceptance of a "gift of any amount", the possibility exists that the donor will receive a "gift" worth more than what he "gave" for it. Such an exchange leaves the donor with what is clearly a taxable gain by IRS standards.

In fact, when the solicitation leads a donor to believe that he is getting a "gift" in return for his donation, should the donee actually give the item at no cost to someone who has made no contribution, and then turn around and report on the IRS-required receipt that the value of the "gift" is $X.xx to the donor responding to the solicitation, the donee has clearly lied to the publican. By IRS standards, if the item can be obtained for free, its Market Value is $0.00, but if the Market Value is truly $X.xx and he has given it away, then the only equitable course of action is to inform the person getting the item that he has just been given a "gift" the value of which must be reported on his income tax form as taxable income.

Just as evil is the situation for the person who gave a "gift of any amount". If the item to be given in return is actually worth $0.00 because it can be had for free by somebody who has no money to give, then any Market Value stated on the receipt defrauds the donor of a possible tax deduction amount.

Similarly, when a church holds a fund-raising dinner and there is a "suggested donation" amount indicated for the meal, only the amount donated that is above the "suggested donation" is legally tax deductible for the donor, and technically, if such a meal is given free to someone who cannot afford the "suggested donation", the "suggested donation" amount is taxable income to the poor person.

Aha, says you, Grandpa Jim is a LEGALIST without care for the unfortunate. Such accusers may well deserve the N_B_L Prize. To lawyer one's way around the IRS regulations is legalism at its finest.

My position is simply this : a "gift" should be given with no expectation of anything in return.

The bottom line is that when you sign that income tax return, you state that everything you wrote down in it is true. In order to fill it out properly, you have to follow the directions that came with it, and accept the definitions that the government uses for the questions and statements on the form. Anyone who signs the form using their own definitions and not altering the form to insert those definitions, is a liar.

Of course, some brave soul might cross off the affidavit just above his signature on the tax return. That produces other kinds of problems. Honesty may be expensive and inconvenient, but when the people of any nation set aside their individual integrity, that nation is ripe for judgment.

2009 has Fall-en

2009-09-28T19:57:00.005-04:00

'Tis Fall of '09. The summer is gone. So is most of the garden. I have been eating the Golden Delicious apples for the past week or so (somebody has to know when they are ripe, and I elected myself Chief Ripeness Tester) and tonight I decided to pick the tree clean. The yellowjackets are running out of other things to eat and they were starting to make some serious holes in the apples. Ergo, I picked.

The front basket has apples that the yellowjackets had attacked.
This is the second crop that this dwarf tree has produced. The year before last it had a dozen or so apples, and last year had nary a bloom, but this year it bloomed heavily. I was unable to spray after mid-July due to rains at the wrong time and my long commute eating up over 3 hours of each day, but the apples are relatively bug free.

And they are indeed delicious.

Rooster Tales

2009-09-23T08:03:00.004-04:00

Just a quickie before I have to settle down to some serious work.

About two weeks ago, I was verifiying the tax card on a house in Middlefield. As I pulled in the driveway, I could hear a rooster crowing on the adjacent property. Exiting the car, I was taking some notes (vacant house, looked like it was in less than average condition, etc) when I noticed a Barred Rock rooster sneak out of the bushes and begin to circle me. Head held low, it crept around to examine what it had found. Then, like a Jurrasic Park velociraptor, it charged.

As it neared my legs, I flipped down my clipboard and knocked it to the side. This was repeated about a half dozen times.

Finally, I decided that I had to get on with my work, took out the measuring wheel, and ran it on the ground in the direction of the rooster. He fled into the bushes and did not return. People he understood -- my guess is that he had lots of experience with them running in terror at his attacks. The wheel, however, was an unknown, may have represented a predator like a big cat, as it crept along the ground, and was something to avoid.

Two morals to this story. One : bullies only pick on people they are certain to intimidate. Two : roosters are far more effective for area defense than the average dog.

I would hate to face a rooster the size of the average dog.

...

2009-09-22T22:36:00.006-04:00

Obstructionist : a lemming who refuses to hurry.

Auld Lang Syne

2009-08-18T22:13:00.006-04:00

T'other day I received an email from Joe Harrison stating that the date of the CG Reunion had been changed to August 15, and querying if I could make that date. While I had plans already for later in the day, I quickly made sure I could spend a few hours with the old guys.

Maybe I should start near the beginning. There are times when it makes sense to go through a wallet and remove stuff that really no longer needs to be there. Such an item is my draft card. It has been over 26 years since I was legally required to carry it, so it is time it went into the drawer with a lot of other old stuff.

One of the things that people who haven't seen me since high school notice is that I am no longer 5 feet 8 inches tall and 120 pounds. In fact, if they remember me at all, it is as the kid who was only 5 feet 2 and wrestled at 98 pounds in his junior year. The draft registration card shows that I was still in the growth spurt, and, in fact, when I started my sophomore year at Akron U, the ROTC Department had to reissue my dress greens because I had grown out of the set they had issued the year before.

The 1-H classification was issued after I notified the board that I had gotten married. Viet Nam was winding down, and they were not likely to bother me again.

When I registered, in 1965, I was given a 2-S deferment. ROTC was mandatory for male students at Akron U then, and I simply took what they stuck me in, which was Army ROTC. Just after the Spring 1966 semester began, I was on campus one Saturday and ran into a bunch of guys in fatigues, doing PT in the snow and drill with real M-1s. One thing led to another and I ended up in the Counterguerilla Unit. When Spring Break came, instead of going to Florida, I found myself in the woods eating Tom Hastler's cooking.

Carefull!! That is a 23 meg + .pdf !!

Of course, some 43 years later, we all look a bit different :

So we sat around swapping condensed versions of our life stories since graduation. Eddie treated us to a demonstration of the fact that he still knew how to field strip and reassemble an M-1. Not quite 8 seconds any more. Not quite. He did avoid "M-1 thumb", though.

Was ROTC useful? I think so. Cadets were taught to say "Yes, Sir" and "No, Sir", and that only a woman would wear a hat inside a building. They were taught to polish their shoes and tie their ties. They were taught the difference between their left foot and their right foot, and how to walk with other people without tangling up their legs. These are all useful skills for college graduates (or even high school graduates -- Eddie teaches ROTC at Garfield High in Akron) and it is amazing how many people complete a college degree without knowledge of such simple civilizing graces. The jungle always encroaches when civilization retreats.

Chicken Wars!

2009-07-25T10:38:00.004-04:00

Saturday is a kick-back day sometimes. Today, I had nothing that was screaming "URGENT!" in my mind, so I was slow to get out of the rack. Thus it was that I was jolted from semi-slumber by the phone call at 6:15 AM from Cousin X ( the X is the chromosome identifier, and I won't go any further than that ) to inform me that she and her family were moving, and to give me their new address. It seems their prior landlord would not fix a problem with the apartment, so they had to find a new place. Also, would I please call her sister and let her know they had moved?

Frankly, I'm a bit flattered that I rank so high in her pecking order, even if it left me shaking my head over the timing of the call. Somehow, the incident led me to thinking about groceries ( at this point, I don't think we will take them any, since she didn't request help, and on top of that, I didn't ask since I was still not thinking too clearly due to my somnia ). If you don't like my invention of new words, too bad. Besides, she has my phone number. Anyhoo, the incident fired my neurons and soon I was off on a rabbit trail regarding food, and I eventually recalled an article in the local rag about a state-wide ballot issue the Humane Society is pushing to force farmers to supply bigger cages for their livestock.

The trail began with the phone call, leaped to the blog posts I was planning to do regarding the return on investment from rental properties, hopped over to my data gathering at the Geauga County Fairgrounds, bounced around the concept of value in use, acknowledged that I needed to get information on the local cost of boarding horses, briefly touched on the costs of veterinary treatment ( because I am going to ultimately have to try to develop value opinions for a couple of vet hospitals ), ricocheted off the dangers of parasites in pastureland, flip-flopped to the fact that local produce is probably more dangerous than Mexican imports, and sat down on the cage article. If you attempt to psychoanalyze me, I guarantee to drive you crazy.

In previous posts, I went into some detail regarding parasitic worms that affect people. I am much impressed by the existence of parasitic worms, because in Beauval we had many graphic lessons, from doggy doo to fish for the table, which made us wary of trusting food in its most natural state. There are quite a few people in our land who are strict vegetarians, and many who think the best way to serve food is raw. They are entitled to their opinions, and I have no desire to force them to eat otherwise. I am quite aware, however, that gastric discomfort can result from something as simple as drinking water from a well that one has never used before, and I have experienced diarrhea from sampling veggie trays at parties. In fact, the first couple of salads fresh from my own garden are likely to trigger funny stuff if the produce isn't cleaned well.

Grazing animals are particularly subject to parasitic organisms that spend part of their life cycle in low-lying vegetation. Watercress eaters probably have liver flukes, and I suspect that most vegetarians are skinnier than the population at large, not because of the lack of fat in their diet, but, because of their internal zoo which shares their nutrient supply. Trichina in pork was once a problem in this country, but after pigs began to be kept in smaller pens and couldn't free-range and eat rats and mice that hosted the intermediate stages, the disease practically disappeared. Chickens are also omnivores ( T. rex with feathers ) and if they get a chance, they will eat any rodent that crosses their pen -- we used to catch mice and throw them into the middle of the chicken yard and watch the action.

All the arguments about how good-tasting free-range livestock is tends to ignore the fact that part of the good taste comes from the stuff that buzzards eat. I would be willing to put money on the idea that free-range chickens and pigs (and cows and sheep and goats ) have worms that can be passed on to their eaters. That is not a gamble, because it is almost 100% certain. So we come to cages, and whether or not they are cruel.

Many of the Humane-ists see nothing wrong with keeping their dog or cat in the house. That is cruel, because both are hunting animals that need to roam and kill in order to be mentally well adjusted. Further, dogs are pack animals, and have a social need to be with other dogs. They think humans are poor substitutes for dogs, a fact which is easily shown as soon as they come into proximity with another of their own species -- they immediately sniff anuses. In addition, to neuter them is to deprive the male dog or cat of the joy of procreation and the female dog or cat of the satisfaction of maternity; such neutering is cruel in the extreme. Nevertheless, these same people would argue that keeping a laying hen in a cage so small it could barely turn about in, for the purpose of safety and hygiene, is cruel.

The chicken in a cage has controlled feed -- no wild critters in its provender to give it worms. It is kept clean -- no straw to collect chicken dumpings, since the mess drops through the bottom screens and gets taken away. It is safe -- no chicken hawks threatening from above, no skunks, raccoons, or dogs on the ground, and no peers to harass. I did forget to mention, didn't I, that chickens are known for their cannibalism? They have a pecking order. You put them in a flock, in the chicken yard with all kinds of room to roam, and they will establish the pecking order. Bottom ranking hen gets pecked by everyone else. She gets her feathers pulled out. Woe be to her if she starts to bleed, because at that point the whole flock will attack and eat her. She is much better off in the cage.

As a matter of fact, the optimum cage size is just the size of the chicken. She can sit or stand, and being very stupid, has no need to turn around, since the feed only goes in one end, and the eggs come out the other, and if the chicken turns around, there will be disaster in the cage. Farmers are not only smart, they are practical. Those are two characteristics that are underdeveloped in the Humane-ists.

Prior to Walt Disney and his anthropomorphic mice, attitudes toward animals tended to be realistic. Those who have been brainwashed into thinking that Bambi, the Snow White menagerie, and other cartoon animals represent reality have forgotten the facts of nature. Abuse is defined by society, and the definition will vary from place to place. In essence, it is a religious argument. Animal worship is a subset of human self-worship. Love me, love my dog. I am an absolutely irritating philosopher, am I not?

They Are Back

2009-07-24T21:55:00.003-04:00

I haven't seen much of our local deer since spring. Then, while in the garden this evening, ...

A loner. Probably a buck. Season doesn't open until 9-26. I'm gonna need a crossbow for this job.

While I wish I could use the SMLE, it scares me. Houses behind the garden. I'm not too worried about a miss; its just that a deer isn't too "thick". Even a soft-point coming out the other side could be dangerous, and the black bear was "thick" and still had a decent exit hole. And I remember Chuck's rabbit. The one that was hiding behind the telephone pole, with just a fringe of hair sticking up. And the shot that went through the telephone pole and turned him into a yard wide hasenpfeffer. Even if that was a full metal jacket round. Old Smiley has a lot of oomph.

Gotta get a crossbow. And I have to fix the shed loft so it makes a comfy blind.

Radishculous!

2009-07-24T21:14:00.004-04:00

We bought our beet seed at Copley Feed this year. Detroit Dark Reds. Shortly after it was planted, I noted that one of the sprouts looked a bit strange -- too green among beet greens tinged with red. Sunday I went out to pull a few (have to thin them, you know) and I decided that the oddball would be the first victim. As I bent to pull it, I was flabbergasted by size of the root. I pulled, and out came a monstrosity.

It was a radish. I wish my father-in-law could have seen this one! Despite the size, it was tender and relatively sweet inside. Usually big radishes are stringy and vilely "hot". We have been slicing it and using it; one slice covers a half slice of bread.

My regret is that I didn't leave it to go to seed. This one could get the Darwin Award for sure. Maybe I can clone it -- make the top sprout roots. Maybe.

Indian Country

2009-07-17T22:06:00.004-04:00

Joonyah and I were talking about old times and we decided to visit Beauval again. Our ticket was provided by Google maps. Thirty years ago, this was home. The Canadian Department of Indian and Northern Affairs paid me to teach in this lovely backwater, and provided housing at a nominal cost. We left in 1980 because the Government of Saskatchewan would not allow me to keep my teaching certificate unless I became a Canadian citizen. When we left, the school and its grounds had just been turned over to the English River Band.

The old residential school building is no longer standing. The shop down by the river, where I rebuilt my truck engine, is gone. The hockey rink, which was lovingly maintained by both students and staff, is no more. Joonyah pointed out that the old school bus still seems to be parked in the back, though. Some of the best years of our lives were spent in this isolated (at that time) backwater. The memories of what was then still make me a bit homesick, but I think we left at the right time.

------------------

This is a better shot that I stole from somebody's web page. My biology / chemistry lab was in the low section of the new addition on the far right. That is Lac La Plonge in the distance.

It seems the residence shut down in 1983, just 3 years after we left. We definitely left at the right time.

Congress Proposes Hate Crime(against citizens)

2009-07-16T21:39:00.003-04:00

How many Chicago politicians does it take to start a new American Revolution?

Notice the power given to the Attorney General, an appointed official, to determine who can own a firearm, how much his license will cost, and any additional regulations he deems necessary.

Look at Section 601. It is time for the legislatures and governors of the States to stand up and declare that their States are not bound by any act of Congress which attempts to override the literal text of the United States Constitution.

-------------------

H.R.45

Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)

HR 45 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 45

To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 6, 2009

Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record of sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as `Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009'.

(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I--LICENSING

Sec. 101. Licensing requirement.

Sec. 102. Application requirements.

Sec. 103. Issuance of license.

Sec. 104. Renewal of license.

Sec. 105. Revocation of license.

TITLE II--RECORD OF SALE OR TRANSFER

Sec. 201. Sale or transfer requirements for qualifying firearms.

Sec. 202. Firearm records.

TITLE III--ADDITIONAL PROHIBITIONS

Sec. 301. Universal background check requirement.

Sec. 302. Failure to maintain or permit inspection of records.

Sec. 303. Failure to report loss or theft of firearm.

Sec. 304. Failure to provide notice of change of address.

Sec. 305. Child access prevention.

TITLE IV--ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 401. Criminal penalties.

Sec. 402. Regulations.

Sec. 403. Inspections.

Sec. 404. Orders.

Sec. 405. Injunctive enforcement.

TITLE V--FIREARM INJURY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH

Sec. 501. Duties of the Attorney General.

TITLE VI--EFFECT ON STATE LAW

Sec. 601. Effect on State law.

Sec. 602. Certification of State firearm licensing systems and State firearm record of sale systems.

TITLE VII--RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW

Sec. 701. Subordination to Arms Export Control Act.

TITLE VIII--INAPPLICABILITY

Sec. 801. Inapplicability to governmental authorities.

TITLE IX--EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 901. Effective date of amendments.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) Findings- Congress finds that--

(1) the manufacture, distribution, and importation of firearms is inherently commercial in nature;

(2) firearms regularly move in interstate commerce;

(3) to the extent that firearms trafficking is intrastate in nature, it arises out of and is substantially connected with a commercial transaction, which, when viewed in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce;

(4) because the intrastate and interstate trafficking of firearms are so commingled, full regulation of interstate commerce requires the incidental regulation of intrastate commerce;

(5) gun violence in the United States is associated with the majority of homicides, over half the suicides, and two-thirds of non-fatal violent injuries; and

(6) on the afternoon of May 10, 2007, Blair Holt, a junior at Julian High School in Chicago, was killed on a public bus riding home from school when he used his body to shield a girl who was in the line of fire after a young man boarded the bus and started shooting.

(b) Sense of the Congress- It is the sense of the Congress that--

(1) firearms trafficking is prevalent and widespread in and among the States, and it is usually impossible to distinguish between intrastate trafficking and interstate trafficking; and

(2) it is in the national interest and within the role of the Federal Government to ensure that the regulation of firearms is uniform among the States, that law enforcement can quickly and effectively trace firearms used in crime, and that firearms owners know how to use and safely store their firearms.

(1) to protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of qualifying firearms to criminals and youth;

(2) to ensure that owners of qualifying firearms are knowledgeable in the safe use, handling, and storage of those firearms;

(3) to restrict the availability of qualifying firearms to criminals, youth, and other persons prohibited by Federal law from receiving firearms; and

(4) to facilitate the tracing of qualifying firearms used in crime by Federal and State law enforcement agencies.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

(a) In General- In this Act:

(1) FIREARM; LICENSED DEALER; LICENSED MANUFACTURER; STATE- The terms `firearm', `licensed dealer', `licensed manufacturer', and `State' have the meanings given those terms in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.

(2) QUALIFYING FIREARM- The term `qualifying firearm' has the meaning given the term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Amendment to Title 18, United States Code- Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(36) The term `qualifying firearm'--

`(A) means--

`(i) any handgun; or

`(ii) any semiautomatic firearm that can accept any detachable ammunition feeding device; and

`(B) does not include any antique.'.

TITLE I--LICENSING

SEC. 101. LICENSING REQUIREMENT.

Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(aa) Firearm Licensing Requirement-

`(1) IN GENERAL- It shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector to possess a qualifying firearm on or after the applicable date, unless that person has been issued a firearm license--

`(A) under title I of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, which license has not been invalidated or revoked under that title; or

`(B) pursuant to a State firearm licensing and record of sale system certified under section 602 of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, which license has not been invalidated or revoked under State law.

`(2) APPLICABLE DATE- In this subsection, the term `applicable date' means--

`(A) with respect to a qualifying firearm that is acquired by the person before the date of the enactment of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, 2 years after such date of enactment; and

`(B) with respect to a qualifying firearm that is acquired by the person on or after the date of the enactment of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, 1 year after such date of enactment.'.

SEC. 102. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.

(a) In General- In order to be issued a firearm license under this title, an individual shall submit to the Attorney General (in accordance with the regulations promulgated under subsection (b)) an application, which shall include--

(1) a current, passport-sized photograph of the applicant that provides a clear, accurate likeness of the applicant;

(2) the name, address, and date and place of birth of the applicant;

(3) any other name that the applicant has ever used or by which the applicant has ever been known;

(4) a clear thumb print of the applicant, which shall be made when, and in the presence of the entity to whom, the application is submitted;

(5) with respect to each category of person prohibited by Federal law, or by the law of the State of residence of the applicant, from obtaining a firearm, a statement that the individual is not a person prohibited from obtaining a firearm;

(6) a certification by the applicant that the applicant will keep any firearm owned by the applicant safely stored and out of the possession of persons who have not attained 18 years of age;

(7) a certificate attesting to the completion at the time of application of a written firearms examination, which shall test the knowledge and ability of the applicant regarding--

(A) the safe storage of firearms, particularly in the vicinity of persons who have not attained 18 years of age;

(B) the safe handling of firearms;

(D) the legal responsibilities of firearms owners, including Federal, State, and local laws relating to requirements for the possession and storage of firearms, and relating to reporting requirements with respect to firearms; and

(E) any other subjects, as the Attorney General determines to be appropriate;

(8) an authorization by the applicant to release to the Attorney General or an authorized representative of the Attorney General any mental health records pertaining to the applicant;

(9) the date on which the application was submitted; and

(10) the signature of the applicant.

(b) Regulations Governing Submission- The Attorney General shall promulgate regulations specifying procedures for the submission of applications to the Attorney General under this section, which regulations shall--

(1) provide for submission of the application through a licensed dealer or an office or agency of the Federal Government designated by the Attorney General;

(2) require the applicant to provide a valid identification document (as defined in section 1028(d)(2) of title 18, United States Code) of the applicant, containing a photograph of the applicant, to the licensed dealer or to the office or agency of the Federal Government, as applicable, at the time of submission of the application to that dealer, office, or agency; and

(3) require that a completed application be forwarded to the Attorney General not later than 48 hours after the application is submitted to the licensed dealer or office or agency of the Federal Government, as applicable.

(1) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General shall charge and collect from each applicant for a license under this title a fee in an amount determined in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) FEE AMOUNT- The amount of the fee collected under this subsection shall be not less than the amount determined by the Attorney General to be necessary to ensure that the total amount of all fees collected under this subsection during a fiscal year is sufficient to cover the costs of carrying out this title during that fiscal year, except that such amount shall not exceed $25.

SEC. 103. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE.

(a) In General- The Attorney General shall issue a firearm license to an applicant who has submitted an application that meets the requirements of section 102 of this Act, if the Attorney General ascertains that the individual is not prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, from receiving a firearm.

(b) Effect of Issuance to Prohibited Person- A firearm license issued under this section shall be null and void if issued to a person who is prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, from receiving a firearm.

(c) Form of License- A firearm license issued under this section shall be in the form of a tamper-resistant card, and shall include--

(1) the photograph of the licensed individual submitted with the application;

(2) the address of the licensed individual;

(3) the date of birth of the licensed individual;

(4) a license number, unique to each licensed individual;

(5) the expiration date of the license, which shall be the date that is 5 years after the initial anniversary of the date of birth of the licensed individual following the date on which the license is issued (or in the case of a license renewal, following the date on which the license is renewed under section 104);

(6) the signature of the licensed individual provided on the application, or a facsimile of the application; and

(7) centered at the top of the license, capitalized, and in boldface type, the following:

`FIREARM LICENSE--NOT VALID FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE'.

SEC. 104. RENEWAL OF LICENSE.

(a) Application for Renewal-

(1) IN GENERAL- In order to renew a firearm license issued under this title, not later than 30 days before the expiration date of the license, the licensed individual shall submit to the Attorney General (in accordance with the regulations promulgated under paragraph (3)), in a form approved by the Attorney General, an application for renewal of the license.

(2) CONTENTS- An application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include--

(A) a current, passport-sized photograph of the applicant that provides a clear, accurate likeness of the applicant;

(B) current proof of identity of the licensed individual; and

(3) REGULATIONS GOVERNING SUBMISSION- The Attorney General shall promulgate regulations specifying procedures for the submission of applications under this subsection.

(b) Issuance of Renewed License- Upon approval of an application submitted under subsection (a) of this section, the Attorney General shall issue a renewed license, which shall meet the requirements of section 103(c), except that the license shall include the current photograph and address of the licensed individual, as provided in the application submitted under this section, and the expiration date of the renewed license, as provided in section 103(c)(5).

SEC. 105. REVOCATION OF LICENSE.

(a) In General- If an individual to whom a license has been issued under this title subsequently becomes a person who is prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, from receiving a firearm--

(1) the license is revoked; and

(2) the individual shall promptly return the license to the Attorney General.

(b) Administrative Action- Upon receipt by the Attorney General of notice that an individual to whom a license has been issued under this title has become a person described in subsection (a), the Attorney General shall ensure that the individual promptly returns the license to the Attorney General.

TITLE II--RECORD OF SALE OR TRANSFER

SEC. 201. SALE OR TRANSFER REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALIFYING FIREARMS.

Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by section 101 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(bb) Unauthorized Sale or Transfer of a Qualifying Firearm- It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, deliver, or otherwise transfer a qualifying firearm to, or for, any person who is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, or to receive a qualifying firearm from a person who is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector, unless, at the time and place of the transfer or receipt--

`(1) the transferee presents to a licensed dealer a valid firearm license issued to the transferee--

`(A) under title I of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009; or

`(B) pursuant to a State firearm licensing and record of sale system certified under section 602 of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 established by the State in which the transfer or receipt occurs;

`(2) the licensed dealer contacts the Attorney General or the head of the State agency that administers the certified system described in paragraph (1)(B), as applicable, and receives notice that the transferee has been issued a firearm license described in paragraph (1) and that the license remains valid; and

`(3) the licensed dealer records on a document (which, in the case of a sale, shall be the sales receipt) a tracking authorization number provided by the Attorney General or the head of the State agency, as applicable, as evidence that the licensed dealer has verified the validity of the license.'.

SEC. 202. FIREARM RECORDS.

(a) Submission of Sale or Transfer Reports- Not later than 14 days after the date on which the transfer of qualifying firearm is processed by a licensed dealer under section 922(bb) of title 18, United States Code (as added by section 201 of this Act), the licensed dealer shall submit to the Attorney General (or, in the case of a licensed dealer located in a State that has a State firearm licensing and record of sale system certified under section 602 of this Act, to the head of the State agency that administers that system) a report of that transfer, which shall include information relating to--

(1) the manufacturer of the firearm;

(2) the model name or number of the firearm;

(3) the serial number of the firearm;

(4) the date on which the firearm was received by the transferee;

(5) the number of a valid firearm license issued to the transferee under title I of this Act; and

(6) the name and address of the individual who transferred the firearm to the transferee.

(b) Federal Record of Sale System- Not later than 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish and maintain a Federal record of sale system, which shall include the information included in each report submitted to the Attorney General under subsection (a).

(c) Elimination of Prohibition on Establishment of System of Registration- Section 926(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the second sentence.

TITLE III--ADDITIONAL PROHIBITIONS

SEC. 301. UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENT.

Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by sections 101 and 201 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(cc) Universal Background Check Requirement-

`(1) REQUIREMENT- Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector to sell, deliver, or otherwise transfer a firearm to any person other than such a licensee, unless the transfer is processed through a licensed dealer in accordance with subsection (t).

`(2) EXCEPTION- Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the infrequent transfer of a firearm by gift, bequest, intestate succession or other means by an individual to a parent, child, grandparent, or grandchild of the individual, or to any loan of a firearm for any lawful purpose for not more than 30 days between persons who are personally known to each other.'.

SEC. 302. FAILURE TO MAINTAIN OR PERMIT INSPECTION OF RECORDS.

Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by sections 101, 201, and 301 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(dd) Failure To Maintain or Permit Inspection of Records- It shall be unlawful for a licensed manufacturer or a licensed dealer to fail to comply with section 202 of Blair Holt's Handgun Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, or to maintain such records or supply such information as the Attorney General may require in order to ascertain compliance with such Act and the regulations and orders issued under such Act.'.

SEC. 303. FAILURE TO REPORT LOSS OR THEFT OF FIREARM.

Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by sections 101, 201, 301, and 302 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(ee) Failure To Report Loss or Theft of Firearm- It shall be unlawful for any person who owns a qualifying firearm to fail to report the loss or theft of the firearm to the Attorney General within 72 hours after the loss or theft is discovered.'.

SEC. 304. FAILURE TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS.

Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by sections 101, 201, 301, 302, and 303 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(ff) Failure To Provide Notice of Change of Address- It shall be unlawful for any individual to whom a firearm license has been issued under title I of Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 to fail to report to the Attorney General a change in the address of that individual within 60 days of that change of address.'.

SEC. 305. CHILD ACCESS PREVENTION.

Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by sections 101, 201, 301, 302, 303, and 304 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(gg) Child Access Prevention-

`(1) DEFINITION OF CHILD- In this subsection, the term `child' means an individual who has not attained the age of 18 years.

`(2) PROHIBITION AND PENALTIES- Except as provided in paragraph (3), it shall be unlawful for any person to keep a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition for the firearm, any 1 of which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, within any premises that is under the custody or control of that person, if--

`(A) that person--

`(i) knows, or recklessly disregards the risk, that a child is capable of gaining access to the firearm; and

`(ii) either--

`(I) knows, or recklessly disregards the risk, that a child will use the firearm to cause the death of, or serious bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of this title) to, the child or any other person; or

`(II) knows, or reasonably should know, that possession of the firearm by a child is unlawful under Federal or State law; and

`(B) a child uses the firearm and the use of that firearm causes the death of, or serious bodily injury to, the child or any other person.

`(3) EXCEPTIONS- Paragraph (2) shall not apply if--

`(A) at the time the child obtained access, the firearm was secured with a secure gun storage or safety device;

`(B) the person is a peace officer, a member of the Armed Forces, or a member of the National Guard, and the child obtains the firearm during, or incidental to, the performance of the official duties of the person in that capacity;

`(C) the child uses the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of 1 or more other persons; or

`(D) the person has no reasonable expectation, based on objective facts and circumstances, that a child is likely to be present on the premises on which the firearm is kept.'.

TITLE IV--ENFORCEMENT

SEC. 401. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

(a) Failure To Possess Firearm License; Failure To Comply With Qualifying Firearm Sale or Transfer Requirements; Failure To Maintain or Permit Inspection of Records- Section 924(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(8) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (aa), (bb), or (dd) of section 922 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.'.

(b) Failure To Comply With Universal Background Checks; Failure To Timely Report Loss or Theft of a Qualifying Firearm; Failure To Provide Notice of Change of Address- Section 924(a)(5) of such title is amended by striking `(s) or (t)' and inserting `(t), (cc), (ee), or (ff)'.

(c) Child Access Prevention- Section 924(a) of such title, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(9) Whoever violates section 105(a)(2) of Blair Holt's Handgun Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, knowingly or having reason to believe that the person is prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, from receiving a firearm, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

`(10) Whoever violates section 922(gg) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.'.

SEC. 402. REGULATIONS.

(a) In General- The Attorney General shall issue regulations governing the licensing of possessors of qualifying firearms and the recorded sale of qualifying firearms, consistent with this Act and the amendments made by this Act, as the Attorney General determines to be reasonably necessary to reduce or prevent deaths or injuries resulting from qualifying firearms, and to assist law enforcement in the apprehension of owners or users of qualifying firearms used in criminal activity.

(b) Maximum Interval Between Issuance of Proposed and Final Regulation- Not later than 120 days after the date on which the Attorney General issues a proposed regulation under subsection (a) with respect to a matter, the Attorney General shall issue a final regulation with respect to the matter.

SEC. 403. INSPECTIONS.

In order to ascertain compliance with this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the regulations and orders issued under this Act, the Attorney General may, during regular business hours, enter any place in which firearms or firearm products are manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in commerce, and inspect those areas where the products are so manufactured, stored, or held.

SEC. 404. ORDERS.

The Attorney General may issue an order prohibiting the sale or transfer of any firearm that the Attorney General finds has been transferred or distributed in violation of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or a regulation issued under this Act.

SEC. 405. INJUNCTIVE ENFORCEMENT.

The Attorney General may bring an action to restrain any violation of this Act or an amendment made by this Act in the district court of the United States for any district in which the violation has occurred, or in which the defendant is found or transacts business.

TITLE V--FIREARM INJURY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH

SEC. 501. DUTIES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

(a) In General- The Attorney General shall--

(1) establish and maintain a firearm injury information clearinghouse to collect, investigate, analyze, and disseminate data and information relating to the causes and prevention of death and injury associated with firearms;

(2) conduct continuing studies and investigations of firearm-related deaths and injuries; and

(3) collect and maintain current production and sales figures for each licensed manufacturer.

(b) Availability of Information- Periodically, but not less frequently than annually, the Attorney General shall report to the Congress and make available to the public a report on the activities of the Attorney General under subsection (a).

TITLE VI--EFFECT ON STATE LAW

SEC. 601. EFFECT ON STATE LAW.

(a) In General- This Act and the amendments made by this Act may not be construed to preempt any provision of the law of any State or political subdivision of that State, or prevent a State or political subdivision of that State from enacting any provision of law regulating or prohibiting conduct with respect to firearms, except to the extent that the provision of law is inconsistent with any provision of this Act or an amendment made by this Act, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency.

(b) Rule of Interpretation- A provision of State law is not inconsistent with this Act or an amendment made by this Act if the provision imposes a regulation or prohibition of greater scope or a penalty of greater severity than a corresponding prohibition or penalty imposed by this Act or an amendment made by this Act.

SEC. 602. CERTIFICATION OF STATE FIREARM LICENSING SYSTEMS AND STATE FIREARM RECORD OF SALE SYSTEMS.

Upon a written request of the chief executive officer of a State, the Attorney General may certify--

(1) a firearm licensing system established by a State, if State law requires the system to satisfy the requirements applicable to the Federal firearm licensing system established under title I; or

(2) a firearm record of sale system established by a State, if State law requires the head of the State agency that administers the system to submit to the Federal firearm record of sale system established under section 202(b) a copy of each report submitted to the head of the agency under section 202(a), within 7 days after receipt of the report.

TITLE VII--RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW

SEC. 701. SUBORDINATION TO ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT.

In the event of any conflict between any provision of this Act or an amendment made by this Act, and any provision of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751), the provision of the Arms Export Control Act shall control.

TITLE VIII--INAPPLICABILITY

SEC. 801. INAPPLICABILITY TO GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES.

This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not apply to any department or agency of the United States, of a State, or of a political subdivision of a State, or to any official conduct of any officer or employee of such a department or agency.

TITLE IX--EFFECTIVE DATE

SEC. 901. EFFECTIVE DATE OF AMENDMENTS.

The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Somebody Got a Degree in Spaghetti

2009-07-15T19:16:00.004-04:00

I would say, "No Comment", but that in itself is a comment of a nasty sort when you consider the graphic.

He Must Be a Prophet

2009-07-11T22:38:00.003-04:00

Recently (very recently) the President stated that unemployment in the US of A would probably rise to 10% as his stimulus program produced results. In fact, the stock market has been responding to government statistics; as unemployment has risen, the market has gone down (Inverse Obamanation Law of Economics). But ... what do you think of these statistics, which are official Department of Labor numbers?

10% you say? What is this 16+% we are seeing? Somebody wants us to see U-3 but not U-6? It looks like we have Obamanomic success beyond our wildest nightmares. Anybody want to give Wall Street some advice?

Hats Off to Faded Glory

2009-07-11T11:03:00.004-04:00

My Help Meet decided that I needed some new jeans for the job. (Walking around cow pastures, through the woods, and into manufacturing plants does not require formal work wear, unless it is "farmer formal".) Last week she bought me two pairs of Faded Glory™ brand jeans at WallyWorld. As I was exploring them, I noticed that the watch pocket seemed larger than normal. Sure enough, the watch pockets on those two pair had been enlarged to enable storing a cell phone.

Imagine that! The whole purpose of that little bitty pocket was to enable the working gent to keep his pocket watch there without having the fob catch on things as he worked. (What! You thought it was for storage of your spare pennies? How droll!) The modern gentleman laborer no longer carries a fancy pocket watch (unless he is an ostentatious fop himself), and instead packs a cell phone which not only lets the government know where he is, at all times, to within a few yards, but also allows instantaneous world-wide communication, functions as a calculator and timepiece with stopwatch, and even (except for rare exceptions now) allows him to photograph or video record events (which can be broadcast world-wide as well).

Most clothing manufacturers seem to still be in the Dark Ages of the early 20th Century with respect to design, but not Faded Glory™. They have incorporated the modern equivalent of the gentleman's watch pocket in their bluejean design. Or at least I hope it was a conscious decision. Since I have at this moment only two specimens from which to draw my conclusions, I could be wrong. Nevertheless, I salute the Faded Glory™ Jeans Company for their Intelligent Design, which furthers the evolution of the blue jean in America.

If they were really intelligent, they would use this blog post as an advertisement, and pay me a royalty -- because this post is copyrighted by me under current US law -- like all the other Sayings of Grandpa Jim (©2003).

Number of votes cast:	Number of signatures:
Fewer than 5,000	25, or a number equal to 5 percent of the vote (whichever is less)
5,000 or more	1 percent of vote