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Labels: telescopes Labels: abortion Labels: gun rights Labels: economics Brady Boyd, who succeeded Haggard as senior pastor of the 10,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, told The Associated Press that the man came forward to church officials in late 2006 shortly after a Denver male prostitute claimed to have had a three-year cash-for-sex relationship with Haggard. Boyd said an "overwhelming pool of evidence" pointed to an "inappropriate, consensual sexual relationship" that "went on for a long period of time ... it wasn't a one-time act." Boyd said the man was in his early 20s at the time. He said he was certain the man was of legal age when it began. "It wasn't at all a settlement to make him be quiet or not tell his story," Boyd said. "Our desire was to help him. Here was a young man who wanted to get on with his life. We considered it more compassionate assistance - certainly not hush money. I know what's what everyone will want to say because that's the most salacious thing to say, but that's not at all what it was." He said that "secondarily, it's not great for our church either" that the story be told. Boyd said Haggard knew about the settlement two years ago. In a letter e-mailed Friday to New Life Church members, Boyd said of the settlement and agreement not to talk: "This decision was made not as an attempt to conceal wrongdoings, but to protect him from those who would seek to exploit him. His actions now suggest that he has changed his mind." ... Boyd said he had spoken to the man once and came away with the impression that he was speaking out because of the documentary. "I think what caused this young man to be a bit aggravated was Ted being seen as a victim, when he himself had experienced a great deal of hurt," Boyd said. "I seriously doubt this man would have come forward if the documentary had not been made." Labels: homosexuality Labels: cars
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I ran for Idaho state senate in 2008--didn't win
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THE MESOPOTAMIAN: TO BRING ONE MORE IRAQI VOICE OF THE SILENT MAJORITY TO THE ATTENTION OF THE WORLD
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Maggie's Farm: Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
A blog dedicated to "Documenting Saddam Hussein's support of Terrorism"
The blog of one of my fellow bloggers on the Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog
J. Norman Heath's Blog--a circus rigger and Second Amendment scholar (really!)
Buckeye Firearms Association, for you Ohio gun owners and activists
Click here for a FREE NEWSLETTER on Ohio Gun Rights from Buckeye Firearms Association!
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Big Bertha Is Still Too Heavy
I mentioned back in June that I should clearly have used a Serrurier truss, instead of my own clever (?) design. While adding turnbuckles and wires gave Big Bertha sufficient stiffness to hold collimation, it is still too heavy for the Celestron CI-700 mount. The CI-700 had a nominal weight capacity of 60 pounds, and Big Bertha is right at 60 pounds--but that's part of why this is a nominal weight capacity.
When this became apparent a few months ago, I thought of selling the CI-700 mount, and buying a Losmandy Titan, which has a nominal capacity of 100 pounds, and should be more than sufficient. But a Losmandy Titan new costs about $6000. That was a sufficiently breathtaking amount of money that I didn't just run right out and buy one--and then my job at HP evaporated. So I went back to asking, "How can I knock some more weight off of Big Bertha?" Something closer to 50 pounds.
In the meantime, carbon fiber composite materials have become easier to find, and cheaper (at least for off the shelf components). Dragonplate, for example, sells square carbon fiber composite tubes from which I could construct a Serrurier truss. But the more that I looked at this, the more that I liked the idea of buying off the shelf parts for this. Moonlite Telescope Accessories sells connectors and poles for exactly this purpose. I did the math, and concluded that I could replace my current Frankenstein collection of parts with a total of six poles--keeping at least that part of the aluminum channel that bolts the telescope to the mounting plate (which also adds stiffness to that part of the telescope with the most deflection problem).
I'm not quite sure how to calculate the stiffness of a Serrurier truss, but I am quite sure that because of the diagonals, it is stiffer (probably substantially stiffer) than the same tubes parallel to the optical axis, as I have now. Even parallel to the optical axis, the six 1" aluminum tubes would give maximum deflection of 0.00251" for the heavy (mirror) end of the telescope--and the total weight would be about 52 pounds (which was about my original goal for Big Bertha).
Most attractive of using these off the shelf parts is that they are designed for quick assembly and disassembly. I could turn six bolts at the top of the scope, and six bolts at the bottom, and end up with two fairly short assemblies that could be put in the trunk of almost any passenger car. The six poles are five feet long, but can be put into almost any front seat without problem. It also simplifies putting Big Bertha onto a mount. The lower end will weigh about 35 pounds, and is small enough to pick up and handle by myself. Once located on the mount, I would bolt the poles in place, install the upper assembly (which should weigh less than ten pounds), and tighten down the bolts.
I'll scratch my head about this for a while, then look to see if I can find carbon fiber composite tubes that would be lighter than the aluminum tubes--even knocking 2-3 pounds off the total weight would be a win.
Powerful Ad
It was originally accepted to be run during the Superbowl, but then NBC changed their mind about running it.
Is this remarkable person typical of those being aborted? Probably not. Would his mother have aborted him if she had that option? We don't know. But it's a reminder that bad circumstances don't have to produce a criminal.
Chicago Gun Case
The various challenges to handgun bans and obstructive gun registration laws in Illinois have been consolidated into a single case before the U.S. Court of Appeals. See the brief filed by Alan Gura here. A little background is visible here.
There is a very strong possibility that the Court of Appeals will rule against us, not on the merits of the case (which is very strong), but because finding that the Second Amendment is incorporated through the Fourteenth Amendment against the states is a decision above their pay grade.
Maybe Antigravity Isn't As Far Out As I Assumed
I was watching a History Channel Modern Marvels segment about magnets. They mentioned that water is diamagnetic (meaning that it is slightly repelled by a magnetic field), and showed a frog suspended in mid-air by an extraordinarily strong magnetic field. There's a picture here. What this means is that it is at least possible to produce something that will create the effect of antigravity for those of us, like frogs, are mostly water.
I Wish I Could Blame This On Deinstitutionalization
But at least at this point, the evidence just isn't there. There was some history of mental problems, but at least this January 27, 2009 Portland Oregonian account doesn't suggest that it rises to the level that would have locked him up in a mental hospital, or prohibited possession of a gun:Investigators say the 24-year-old gunman who shot nine people and then took his own life downtown Saturday night displayed troublesome behavior in high school, had attempted suicide in the past and was treated for depression at least once.
The rest of the account suggests a troubled young man who decided to take his own life, went out and bought a gun for that purpose, completed all the legal requirements (slightly complex because he was not a U.S. citizen), and decided to make a splash in the news with what would otherwise have been not even a news story.
"This was somebody who had a history of emotional issues, and unfortunately decided to take others along with him," Portland Detective Division Cmdr. John Eckhart said Tuesday.
A broader picture of Erik S. Ayala's life is emerging as Portland detectives turn from potential prosecution to profiling the suspect after he was pronounced dead at Legacy Emanuel Hospital and Health Center on Tuesday from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
While a student at McNary High School in Keizer, Ayala was a "student of concern," Eckhart said. Sgt. Rich Austria said Ayala had "behavioral problems that involved local police intervention."
Detectives' brief interview with Ayala's mother at the hospital this week revealed that he had been hospitalized and on medication when he was younger for depression or other mental health problems, but he wasn't taking medication recently, Detective Mark Slater said.
Melt The Phones!
I just got off the phone with the office of Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID) who represents me in the House--and he's planning to vote against the pork bailout bill. Michelle Malkin has a list of phones that need melting on this here.
I Hope Obama Is Reading The Washington Post
This poll taken earlier this month, published in the January 17, 2009 Washington Post shows that 53% of Americans would prefer less government with less services, while 43% wanted more government, and more services. (See question 19.)
So you are probably asking yourself: if a majority of Americans want less government and less services, how did Obama get elected? Pretty clearly, millions of Americans wanted less government and less services, then voted for someone who is intent on more government. Some of this is because lots of people aren't paying attention--and some of it is that the Obama vs. McCain choice was really two different liberals, arguing about what parts of the government they were going to expand. If Republicans would take a consistent position in favor of a smaller government, they would have a powerful tool for winning. But that would require Republicans interested in winning.
I mentioned that a lot of Americans aren't paying attention to politics--and that's part of the problem. Conservatives are too focused on politics first. For the perhaps 50-60% of Americans who don't pay much attention to public policy issues, who seldom read a newspaper (and then, usually the sports section), conservatives are just noise in the background. Part of why the left has gained so much ground is not only their dominance over the educational system, but also their utter control over popular culture. If we want to have any influence on people that want less government but still voted for Obama, we need to be making an effort in the popular culture. Properly done, this can be a money making activity. (How do you think leftists get to fly around in private jets?) But it requires some capital to make it happen. Look at how much money Mel Gibson's film about Jesus made.
Someone Has Cause And Effect Backward
Nancy Pelosi thinks that more family planning needs to be part of the stimulus package. How, exactly, is birth control going to make the economy grow?
Don't Be Fooled By The Ad
Realm Dekor--you might the impression from the ad above (or that will be above shortly) that they are selling "adult" novelties. No, just rather unusual home furnishings.
Raising Fuel Economy Standards Again
If you want proof that Obama represents not new thinking, but the same old, tired, command and control economy thinking of the past, you need look no further than this morning's speech about raising fuel economy standards for automobiles. This is a bad idea, for a number of different reasons.
1. The fact is that Americans are a diverse population, and have diverse needs. Here in Idaho (and many other snow belt states), most vehicles are 4WD, because the weather gets really bad here in winter, and we need 4WD. While there are relatively fuel efficient 4WDs (such as the Subaru and Suzuki), 4WD is intrinsically inefficient compared to a 2WD vehicle of similar size, because there's a lot more turning machinery consuming energy. I suppose that the solution of the urban elites that push these proposals is to prohibit anyone from living somewhere that doesn't have unionized government employees running snowplows.
2. Past attempts to force Americans to drive the cars that our masters consider appropriate to us have often had counterproductive results. Why did Americans start buying minivans and SUVs in the 1980s, where the market before had simply not required these in large numbers? Because the preferred big family mover--the mid-sized and full-sized station wagon--largely went away. Why? Because the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards passed in the 1970s required American car makers (but not foreign car makers) to improve the fuel economy of the passenger cars that they sold, and dumping station wagons was one way to do it--especially because anything that was classed as a truck was, at least back then, exempt from CAFE. Which would have been more efficient? If Americans had bought 15 mile per gallon station wagons? Or 10 mile per gallon SUVs?
3. I am very skeptical of interference in the free market, but there are bad ways to do it, and even worse ways to do it. If there is a legitimate governmental purpose to forcing people to drive more efficient vehicles, than the right solution is to raise fuel taxes, not order car makers to build cars that Americans do not want. At least raising fuel taxes would help to correct the deficits that the upcoming pork stimulus bill will run up. This makes more sense than telling car companies to create vast fleets of unsellable cars--especially at a time when some of these car companies are getting bailouts from the government.
Sin Has No End
It's sobering the way that one person's sin leads to a series of continuing complications. I've seen it in dozens of different forms: how a parent's alcoholism leads to a child's substance abuse; how a sexually abused child turns into a pole dancer; how a man's mistreatment of his wife becomes a pattern of abuse for their children. In Exodus 20:5, God speaks of how the children end up punished for the sins of the father "to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me...." The harsh reality is that many sins produces confusion and chaos that seldom stops with the sinner.
Remember when the president of the National Association of Evangelicals was disgraced because he was hiring a homosexual prostitute? It wasn't just Haggard who was injured by his sin. This account will probably be misrepresented by homosexual activists, so it's important to know exactly what actually happened. From One News Now:
It appears that because this young man was pretty broken up by what Rev. Haggard did, and the church provided money to cover counseling services and college tuition--and an agreement by all parties to keep it quiet. This sounds at first glance (and will be portrayed as) a silence agreement. But the article goes on to explain what really happened:Boyd said a Colorado Springs TV station reached him Thursday to say the young man was planning to provide a detailed report of his relationship with Haggard to the station. Boyd said the church preferred to keep the matter private, but it was the man's decision to go public.
There's an HBO documentary coming out about Haggard--and it appears that the young man perceived that it was going to portray Haggard as a victim in all this. And Haggard?
...In an AP interview this month before an appearance in front of TV critics in California, Haggard described his sexuality as complex and something that can't be put into "stereotypical boxes."
I hear someone still trying to justify his sin.
Travel, Bad Weather, I Hate It
Oregon DOT's road conditions web page described part of my journey as "Severe Weather Hazard" with patches of ice on the road, but also "snow flurries." Huh? Snow flurries don't sound so hazardous, but what do I know? I grew up in Southern California, three blocks from the Pacific.
Snow flurries add up, and there was definitely some ice in patches on parts of U.S. 20. I never felt like there was any danger of losing control, but I could definitely feel an interesting wiggle from the steering--rather like the system was trying to compensate for intermittent problems of insufficient traction.
A couple of miles driving under these conditions would not be a problem, but doing so for a couple of hours is exhausting, and scary, because a moment of inattention can mean a serious accident. Most of this section of U.S. 20 is flat, and a slide-off accident would not be terribly dangerous--but a head-on accident--even with both vehicles going 30 mph--would be a different matter.
I am so anxious to find a job closer to home.
