Clarification on Women in Combat....

I meant my post here to be understood (though I can see how it might not be) that if a woman is equally capable to take up arms and defend her country, it's not my place to stand in her way.

It is my place, however, to say...

1. No one should have to die for his or her county, and if the human race started acting its age we wouldn't have debates like this.
2. Introducing women to combat also introduces unfortunate complications the enemy will exploit (like sexual abuse of women prisoners, our human inclination to shudder more deeply at cruelty against women, etc; if you can imagine it, it will happen.)
3. Women will go to war, and many will die, and we who sit back and debate these matters will not know any more about the real horrors of war than we do now. We'll wrap it in the flag and honor the fallen as heroes and give the next crop of politicians the tools they need to ensure oil supplies or test preparedness and new weaponry.

Instead of applauding the willingness to send women off to die we should be electing leaders who solve problems without costing lives - ours our anyone else's.

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Started: 2013-01-29

Dana Loesch: A new voice in intelligent conservatism.

Well, new to me, anyway. I just saw Dana Loesch take on Piers Morgan on gun control and it was no contest [Jan 23, 2013].

 

Loesch is the most intelligent, cogent, eloquent conservative I have seen on TV since Bill Buckley, and if you don't know who Bill Buckley was, trust me, that's saying something.

I actually have to side with Piers Morgan on this issue, but he met his match in Loesch.[1]

Piers Morgan and Dana Loesch debate gun control:



Interesting that on 1/25, Dana Loesch isn't featured on Morgan's 1/23 highlights page when others from that night are. (Click below to enlarge this screencapture of Piers Morgan's CNN page; it's the 1/23 lineup as it appeared on 1/25; they later put a 1-minute clip of Loesch from that evening at the top of the list. It is his website, of course, he can post what he wants, but this omission seems like an admission.)

I'd be surprised if we see too much more of Ms Loesch on Piers Morgan, but I think we'll see a lot more of her elsewhere.

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Dana Loesch on Wikipedia >

[1]
I know I said I wasn't going to watch Piers Morgan anymore after his abominable behavior when a nurse associated with the Duchess of Cambridge committed suicide, and I don't make a point to watch him, but I do watch CNN and will occasionally stop when he's on if I'm clicking through the news. (I click quickly and don't stay very long in any one place, but I share Morgan's anger with the American gun culture so I am listening a little to him again.)

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Started: 2013-01-25

(Not So) Ugly Sweaters

I don't understand the fascination with the "ugly sweater." The USPS did a commercial featuring one and there have been sitcom episodes devoted to it, going all the way back to Leave it to Beaver.

I think these colorful holiday sweaters are attractive. I don't own one, so there's no delusional self-affirmation going on here. I also think that actor has a disarming, gentle smile.

I guess everyone got tired of making fun of fruit cake, which I also like.

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I told some friends I was going to start wearing a fanny pack because of all the stuff I have to carry around. They pleaded with me not to. Apparently this fashion accessory is as popular as ugly sweaters and fruit cake.

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Started: 2013-01-17

Some Michigan drivers in winter must think...

Some Michigan drivers in winter must think the coefficient of friction has been increased just for them. Otherwise, why would they drive above the posted speed limit on ice-covered roads when it's 1°F outside and the salt isn't working?

The same people also must think the laws of light propagation have been suspended, since they don't clear the snow from their windows.

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There's nothing more annoying than looking in your rear view mirror on icy roads and seeing someone three feet behind you peering through a porthole in his front windshield created by a defroster that was turned on only 5 minutes ago.

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Started: 2012-01-24

My Opinion on Women in Combat

My opinion on Defense Secretary Leon E Panetta's decision to integrate women into combat units:

If the job requires a penis, give to someone who's got one.

Story: Pentagon to move ‘expeditiously’ to lift ban on women in combat roles >

 

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Started: 2013-01-26

Icom IC-R6 v. Uniden Bearcat BC125AT (Jing, do you have your ears on?)

I might get the missus' blessing on a new radio. I really want a CB in the car for information on road conditions. There've been too many times I've gotten stuck in a mess I could have avoided if I'd been listening to the right conversations.

I don't have any desire to talk on the CB right now, just monitor.[1] Better CBs will scan CB channels, but a good scanner would do that plus many other bands.[2]

So off to scanner land I went, where I narrowed the candidates down to the Icom IC-R6 and the Uniden Bearcat BC125AT.

I compared features I wanted or needed and weighted them.

The results look like this:




The Icom IC-R6 runs no cheaper than $186 before shipping), and the Bearcat BC125AT is at $121 (as of today, and with free shipping at Amazon).

No one radio would do it all, but in this case, if the Icom was bundled with the software and programming cable, I'd probably bite even at the higher price. But it doesn't. I could pirate the software, but I don't want to do that, so the software and cable would add another $100 the Icom.

And when it comes down to what I really want this for, I have to go with practical and easy over fun and cool.

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Of course, I still need a decent travel radio (clock, alarm, great AM). The Tecsun PL-390 has gotten good reviews (most recently over at Herculodge ), especially for AM performance, and I may someday get it.
 
Right now I travel with a Grundig G8, which I’m not happy with. AM is crummy and navigating frequencies, time, alarms, etc is a pain the butt. Radio Shack had it for $29 about a year ago and I couldn't resist. But it was worth $29, especially since I've carried it half way 'round the world and back and knocked it around pretty good, and it still works.

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[1]
Hams are more respectful and if I'm talking I'd rather be on those frequencies. My rig setup is simple, a Wouxun KG-UVD1P  and Tram mag mount 2m/70cm antenna. (Does the job for someone who loves radio more than he uses it.)



[2]
Cell phones relegated CBs to truckers and hobbyists years ago, which is okay; there's actually been a renewed interest in CB lately, and some fun (and illegal) mods to get more power and distance on HF frequencies. If you can tolerate the potty talk, it's an inexpensive and unlicensed entry into 2-way radio. Happens to have been mine; I fell in love with a 23-channel Lafayette when I was a boy of 12.

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Started: 2012-01-22

For jam: Looking for Validation in a Difference

We will never find distinctives in our personal philosophies that set them entirely apart from others and thereby authenticate them. Because all of us share a host of influences (from DNA to language), we will always describe similar concepts in similar ways.

It's fruitless to look for validation in a difference. It would be nice if that were possible, but because our powers of comprehension are so much alike, we easily confuse A with B when they are entirely different.

Examples:
A: Placebo, B: Medicine
A. Sugar, B. Sustenance
A. Sex, B. Love
A. Coincidence, B. Miracles

Conviction transcends analysis. I like both sides of that relationship (conviction and analysis), but they're different and require different responses.

Since we can only interpret God from a human perspective, we will forever be describing him in human ways no matter where we find him.

I personally believe he came once and for all, at one time and in one place, but what that means transcends the facts that led me there.

Hope you are well!

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Started: 2012-01-17

Lost Ideas

I forget much more than I eventually write, and discard much of that. Seems like my best ideas come when I am otherwise occupied. Imagine if there were a way to capture a good idea while simultaneously feeding a baby and stirring Chinese millet and eggs on the stove.

Ten other other things I wish I could do:

1. Have a radio turn on in each room as soon as I enter and turn off as I leave.
2. Listen to more audiobooks before falling asleep.
3. Write more.
4. Read more.
5. Pray more.
6. Worry less.
7. Eat less.
8. Move faster when needed.
9. Know when I don't need to move faster.
10. Be content with a baby in my arms while I stir Chinese millet and eggs on the stove.

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Started: 2013-01-10

Mr Painter

I had a substitute teacher at McDowell Intermediate High School named Mr Painter. He was a retired educator who just tried to just keep things down to a low roar when the regular teacher was out. Every class with Mr Painter was a new adventure, because his faculties were waning.

But something Mr Painter said has stayed with me all these years: If you took all the wars out of your history book, you'd have nothing left but the cover.[1]

One day when subbing for Fraulein Heugel in German class, Mr Painter told us to read the index to our German books, as the value an index was often overlooked.

And so we read our indexes. For 50 minutes.

I wonder how much TV news would be left if you removed all the wars. We'd have more time for Snooki and JWOWW.

[2013-01-17]

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If you have a smart phone, the Internet looks three inches wide.

[2013-01-17]

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[1]
Mr Painter also said that the blood during the American Civil War flowed to the horse's bridle. He probably didn't think there might be someone in the class that knew he was borrowing a biblical image.

When I arrived as a freshman at Calvin College, I proudly wore my McDowell school jacket, which had "TROJANS" embroidered across the back. You can imagine the response I got. I didn't know that Trojans were a brand of condom. I wore a different jacket after that. I had no letter or pins or anything. I wasn't an athlete. I became adept at a young age at quickly adapting to change, even though I hang on to small physical mementos form nearly every period of my life.

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Good Ideas Are Good Good Ideas Regardless of Their Source

There's a certain element of unfairness in grilling a Kwanzaa critic when Christmas critics get a free pass.

Senator Glenn Grothman was grilled by CNN's Ashleigh Banfield on Kwanzaa


There's nothing surprising in this. It's okay to criticize very large groups (who are only mildly annoyed) and very small groups (who have no voice and live daily with dismissive subjugation).

Real decency cares about people and ideas despite the depth of disagreement and physical differences.

Sen. Grothman should have been more sensitive to the good sentiments Kwanzaa promotes, and Ashley Banfield should have acknowledged that Banfield was making a lot of sense.

If we can't discuss the unattractive histories of key personalities within popular movements because we're afraid we'll upset a lot of people, we limit our understanding of each other and the ideas that transcend those personalities.

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Don't misunderstand me, sometimes the personalities behind movements should make us skeptical. Every human organization - religious, judicial, political, academic - has its embarrassing aberrations. For example, from my own tradition: List of scandals involving evangelical Christians ->

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Started: 2013-01-03

Something Nice, Something Honest, Something Mean...

1
Something nice...

These are some very nice pictures taken by our Chinese friend Le Le who is studying photography at Grand Valley State University. These were taken last fall at Holy Spirit School, where Dee Dee goes to preschool. That's Kalya (Mimi) in mommy's tummy.

		Dee Dee, Mommy and Mimi VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

2
Something honest...

Here are two ways to immediately improve the quality of lives of most Americans:

A. Ban all guns of all types within city limits except for law enforcement.[1]

When the US government has collapsed, civil authority is dissolved, and the Chinese are knocking at your door, by all means, break out the assault weapons and banana clips.


B. Discontinue all high school, college, and professional football programs. Learn more about Seau's CTE here ->

There are a gabillion other ways to build character that don't involve knocking our heads together until our brains fall out.

You may disagree. Everyone has a right to be wrong.


3
Something mean...

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Steppenwolf
fire all your guns at once and explode into space

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[1]
I've written more on this here –>

I have dear family and friends that disagree with me. That's okay. Live and let live.

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Started: 2013-01-07