NASA's Impending death

Next year, the Space shuttle will be retired. For nearly 30 years, the space shuttle system has been the symbol of pressing the boundaries, and moving to the next step in space exploration.

Now, NASA is giving up it's heavy lift Constellation Systems.  We are going to lose our position as leader in space because bureaucrats can't make up their minds on what goals to reach for.

NASA is dying.  Without a vision, the Bible Says, the People perish, and without a goal NASA languishes.  They have wasted billions building a shuttle replacement, the changing their minds, and going a different direction. 

NASA is dying.  It's lost it's cutting edge.  It's lost it risk-tolerance, without which there is no real exploration.  In a few decades, our space program will be a distant memory.

I hope and pray I'm wrong.

Torture

Torture

"Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a male or female person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession..." United Nations Convention Against Torture

Torture is a horrible practice. It's been used since before recorded history. Some modern forms of torture are

• physical assaults (i.e. beating up the prisoner)
  
• Stabbing, cutting, suffocating
• electrocution
• starvation
• breaking of bones
• chemical burns

Obama is thinking about prosecuting those who approved 'aggressive' interrogation techniques. The following are some of the "torture" inflected on detainees

• keeping somebody from falling asleep
• Exploiting someones fear of insects to coerce information from them
  
• Making somebody stand for hours, in an uncomfortable position
• Pushing someone into a specially built wall that bounces. Steps are taken to prevent any injury. The wall just makes a big sound (like the mat in pro wrestling)
• Holding the detainees' face
• Slapping the detainees' face (with spread fingers) no more than twice
• Grabbing the detainees' shirt and pulling him close (think Clint Eastwood style)
  
• Pouring water into somebody's face.

Compare this to the torture inflected upon our POWs in Vietnam.

In all honesty here folks, that isn't torture! It is not warm and cuddly. It's not comfortable. These same techniques have been used for years on over 10,000 U.S. airmen in the Air Force's Survival, Evasion and Escape program.

Do we torture our military? No. The training is tough, it gets close, but still fails on the 'severe pain and suffering.' Causing fear is a common interrogation technique used by all police departments in the world. Fear itself cannot be called sever pain and suffering.

The crux of the issue is

1. What constitutes torture? We agree that beatings and cutting off body parts constitutes torture, but does slapping someone? How about sleep deprivation?
   
2. Is morality absolute, or is it dependent upon the situation. If we caught someone planting a dirty bomb in a major city, and we knew that there were five more bombs, how far would we be willing to go to extract the locations of the other bombs from the terrorist we captured? Would our self-righteousness balm the knowledge that thousands, in not millions, are now dead because we decided not to get rough?
3. Are we fighting a war or are we doing law enforcement? Soldiers kill the enemy. Police arrest criminals. Police require evidence, and assume innocence. Solders neither require nor assume either. These are mutually exclusive worldviews. We cannot be of two minds about this question.

If we become like those we are fighting, we loose the very thing for which we are fighting. We can also be sure that our enemy will not limit themselves in this fight to what we consider moral, no matter how much nice we are.

The basis of our nations policy should be reality before philosophy. There are groups of people in this world who want to do us harm. The way to prevent them from inflicting harm on us to to hunt them down, and stop them. Stopping them may mean killing them.

There are two different moral implications at work in this decision. First, the governments obligation to act in a manner consistent with the Constitution of the United States, and with the traditions of this great nation. The second is much more basic. One of the first responsibilities of governments is to protect its citizens against attack. How moral would it have been if Bush could have prevented 3,000 deaths on 9/11, but choose instead not to be rough with a conspirator?

In light of the threats on this nation, and after reading the memos, I honestly believe the Bush people attempted to apply reasonable techniques that attempted to balance the morality of action against the morality of inaction. While harsh and aggressive, these methods fall short of out-right torture. All of the techniques were required to do no actual harm. Pain was to be kept to a minimum. Do you think that our enemies would be as considerate or moral?

Disgusting

In doing research of a paper I was writing for history class, I came across something I never heard before.  

During the early part of WWII, the Soviet Union invaded Poland and in the course of events, executed at least 22,436 Polish POWs.  Of course, the Soviet Union denied it had done so, until the Nazis discovered the mass graves.  FDR rejected a report from one of his underlings detailing Soviet responsibility and banished him to American Samoa for the rest of the war. American POW  Col. John H. Van Vliet wrote a report that concluded that the Soviets were responsible.  U.S. Maj. Gen. Clayton Bissell, assistant chief of staff for intelligence to Gen. Marshall (of the Marshall Plan fame) destroyed it to keep from offending our allies, the Soviets.

Murder of POWs is an atrocity that the Soviet Union repeated.  At the end of the war, when Germany surrendered, 91,000 German were taken as prisoners of war by the Soviet Union in Stalingrad.  Of these, only 6,000 survived.

The U.S. leadership showed no moral authority what-so-ever.  Political commentators condemn Reagan for supporting the Contras but give a pass to their favorite president, FDR, who did much worse.

Cap and Trade

Environmentalists, are you stupid?  You are behind Obama's Cap and Trade deal despite the facts that

• The major polluters will not be affected (China, for example)
• Cap and Trade will destroy our economy by raising energy prices to such a level that our current economy will fall.
• Cap and trade will bring poverty, and poor nations have some of the poorest environmental records.
• For years, environmentalists have complained about pollution, and companies have responded by cleaning up  emissions, redesigning products and so forth.  The result is that the only by-product produced in quantity now is CO2.  CO2 is also a by-product of breathing. How surprising it is that this useful gas, without which there would be no food, is now the state enemy # 1 with environmentalists.  If a device was made tomorrow that made burning coal as clean as wind power, do you think environmentalists would support it?

The problem isn't pollution.  I believe that a certain core of hyper-environmentalism is behind the recent pushes.  I seem them as religious fanatics who worship mother earth.  They view humans as a pestilence on the face of the planet, and loath any lifestyle above that of the Aborigines.

Their goal is to destroy modern life, and decrease population to 'sustainable' levels.    Most 'greens' are not among these, but buy into the whole notion that man is destroying the earth by not living like animals.

I am a conservationist.  I believe we huamns need to preserve and care for our envirnonment, while we make use of its resources.  Cut down that tree, but plant one.  Kill that deer, but leave enough to ensure the survial of the species.

The Pope, AIDS, Condoms, and the Liberal Mindset.

I am not Catholic.  I typically have no opinion on anything the Pope says, nor do I generally care what other people say about him.  

Back in mid March, the Pope went to Africa, and said that condoms are not the way to prevent AIDS/HIV.  

The liberals foamed at the mouth.  Here are their talking points.

• How dare he!  There are people dying and he doesn't care.
  
• Telling people to abstain from sex is nonsensitical.  People are going to have sex, and if we don't have them use condoms, they'll die!
• He's an old man, and therefore is either confused or is so old he doesn't remember what its like to have a libido.
• The only way to prevent HIV/AIDS is to push condom usage hard!

I don't know if the Pope cares or not, but I would bet that he did care.  That's not his point.  Do you know what's driving the pandemic in Africa?  Sexual immorality.

The New York Times says " researchers agree that extramarital sex has been a major factor in the AIDS epidemic. At least four million Africans, 80 percent of those infected, are believed to have acquired the AIDS virus through heterosexual intercourse."(emphasis mine)

Another publication mentions that researchers have identified  Transactional Sex , a euphamizum for armature prostitution, is a major driving force in the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.

The Pope's point wasn't "Do not ever have sex"  but rather, "Have as much sex as you want, as long as it is only with your wife or husband."

If both the husband and wife are  monogamous, and clean of the virus, guess what.  They can't catch it!  

What is stupid, though, is encouraging condom use as if it is a cure all.  If used perfectly, condoms fail about 20% of the time.  Let's take a six-shot pistol, put one bullet in it, spin the revolver, and put the gun to our heads and pull the trigger.    That's real close to the actual odds of condom breakage. 

I'm not against passing out condoms to adults in Africa, but I think the better solution is to encourage men to be faithful to their wives, or the disease will.  If there were no extra matrial sex, the epidemic would stop very quickly.

Divorce Proof

We watch the TLC show, Jon and Kate Plus 8.  Seems as if the couple is going through a rough spot in their marriage.  I ran across this site that said "divorce proof" your marriage, and one of the items it said would help is a prenuptuial agreement.  That is a load of crap.  From being married over 14 years now, and having gone through many rough patches, I can give some prospective on preventing divorce.

1. Marriage takes work.  You have to do it on purpose.  You have to take steps to communicate, spend time together, and relate to each other.  A good marriage, like a well designed, well built home,  doesn't happen by accident, it takes planning and work.
2. Marriage takes commitment.  You have to say, "We will not divorce.  ever. "  when you say that to your heart, a funny thing happens.  When things are bad, you can either be miserable or fix them.  If you keep reminding yourself that you can quit, you'll experience  "grass is greener" syndrome, where you believe that it will be easier and better to quit.  Gut it out.
3. Marriage and selfishness don't go together.  Most problems in marriage arise because of selfishness.  Marriage requires a certain amount of selflessness.  We should put our needs secondary to our spouses.  This means that you guys out there need to turn off the ball game and talk to your wife, even when  you don't really care about the topic.  Gals, that means when your husband is interested in you physically, and you're not in the mood, put his needs first.  If both the husband and the wifes are actively trying to serve each other, then both of their needs will be met.
4. Communicate.  Make time everyday to talk with your spouse.  Talk to him or her about your day, your problems, your feelings, and your plans.  Just sharing your day will pull you closer together.  Most problems in marriage comes from communication problems.
5. Spend time together.  Make it a point to spend time together each week.  Even if you have to put aside time for  a cup of coffee after dinner, do so.  
6. Fight fair.  All couples fight.  Conflict is a natural, but the goal of 'fighting' is to resolve the issue, not to gain points.  Keep yourself under control, and agree to stop if things get overheated.  You're a team, not adversaries.  
7. Decide to Love.  Love is more of a decision than an emotion.  Make the decision to love your spouse, even if he or she doesn't deserve it.  Show your love even when you don't feel like it.
8. Forgive.  Jesus told Peter that we are supposed for forgive a brother 490 times for the same offense.  Forgiveness is letting the person go of the guilt they have.  It's hard, but it's required.  We cannot have a quality marriage if we constantly dredge up past wrongs.
9. You're Responsible for you.  While I can't control my wife's actions,  I can, however,  control me.  I can choose to respond out of love rather than anger.  I can choose to treat her with unearned kindness and deference.  I can choose to let go of past hurts and move forward.  I can choose to turn off the ballgame, put down the phone, turn off the computer pay attention to her.  I firmly believe that if more people would get this one concept in their minds, our divorce rate would plummet.

What's up with that?

While we were watching the Proud Family on the  Disney Channel (I think it was Disney),  a commercial came on advertising 'emergency contraception'

Oh,  how gross.  Pre-teens are now being assaulted with sex-related products on Disney?  I guess they think they have a demographic that watches the show that would have need of their product.  Honestly, though, I can't see what pre-pubescent kids need with that stuff.

I am sick of tampon, douche, condom, erectile disorder medication, and hemorrhoid commercials.  Can't we have a yuck-free evening with kids without having to have long conversations explaining what erections are, and why someone would have one for four hours or more?

Linux

I am not a novice computer user.  

Trust me.  I've been programming computers since I was 12 (25 years now).  I use a command prompt every day.  I write software for a living.  I've built computers.  I fix computers all the time.  In my house, we have a home network with file and print sharing.  There are times that I am using two computers at once!

I've been trying to get into Linux.  For those of you who don't know, Linux is a alternative operating system to Windows and Mac.  It's free.  It is really fast.  You can't break it (not like Windows, that is.)  Most Distros (think of them as versions or flavors) come with tons of free software too.

The problem is that it's hard.  For me, a professional computer programmer, that's saying something.    Nothing is easy in its setup.

The problem is that it was written for geeks by geeks.  Being a geek myself, that has a certain appeal.  There are big differences between Windows and Linux.

Microsoft has done a lot of work hiding how complex things really are.  

Why would  geeks hide how clever they are?

Microsoft has grey haired old ladies, overweight middle aged men with no technical ability and complete idiots who drool on themselves in mind when they design Windows.

Linux designers have themselves and their buddies in mind.  True, they do  simplify things.  Some of their friends are on the slower side, and only know one  or two  computer programming languages, and couldn't even program a binary search!

Linux geeks think it fun to create another program to do a function even when there are 47 others that do the same thing, just because they can.

Windows has any flavor you want, as long as it is vanilla.

Windows worries about making it pretty, then about making it work.

Geeks worry about how things look after they make it work and work right.

One day soon, I too will become geek enough to use Linux.  Until then, I'll hide my head in shame and use XP.

Grace

One of the Biggest words in the English language is a small, five letter word. Grace means unmerited favor. Often, grace is confused with mercy.

Mercy is when you don't receive the negative consequences of your behavior. You're driving 80 mph in a 25 zone, and a cop pulls you over, but lets you go without a ticket. That's mercy.

Grace is more than mercy. In the above example, if the cop handed you a million dollars, that would be closer to grace.

Grace is the sole means of salvation through Christ. The Bible teaches that works won't do.

I heard a preacher buddy of mine, Randy Wilson, define it as "Gods Riches as Christ's Expense" I've never heard a better definition.

The Change

While looking at a friend's Facebook page, I ran across a video called 'cardboard testimonies'.

The content is the same old story that I've heard all my life. God changes lives. Even though it's old, it's also quite true and very powerful.

The truth of the gospel is evident in the change. Whenever God moves in, there has to be a change.

No matter what our lives were before we met Christ, we know that in Him is the power to change lives. Marriages restored, sickness healed, sin forgiven, families brought together, addictions cured, and it goes on.

No matter what our problems, there is only one solution, and that is Jesus the Christ.

Pondering the Love Dare

Sometimes I feel like I am very different from most men.   I have been learning, however, that my reactions and feelings are within normal parameters.  There is an area, however, that I seem to be different.

For Christmas, my beautiful bride bought me a book called 'the love dare.  The book is taken from the movie Fireproof, in which the husband in a troubled marriage heading towards divorce, takes a 'love dare' from his father, and starts to show his wife he loves her.

I am all about improving my marriage.  To me, marriage is scared and vastly important, and I try( most days) to be a better husband.  As my bride will tell you, I don't always succeed.  Our marriage is far from perfect.  

My point is, though, that the book wasn't written for me.  It was written to get people who are self-centred to stop being so.  For example, some of the dares are 'do one act of unexpected kindness' or 'contact your spouse during the day, just to see how they're doing' 

I have been doing these things for years!  

You see, I am not typically a selfish person.  If anything, I need to be more selfish (I tend to put everyone above myself, which isn't good)  So far, the dares have not substantially changed the way in which I interact with my bride, nor  have they been challenging.  The book is good, however.  I'm going to finish it.

It's like Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life".  It states, "Your created for a purpose.  There is a reason you're here.  God has something he wants you to do."  I'm like, yea, so where's the news.  I've known that since I was five.  My life isn't about me.  It's about Him.  I couldn't finish the book, because it was so painfully obvious.  

I am not perfect by any stretch or definition.  I have problems with self-esteem and self-confidence.  I am prone to read more into situations than I probably should.  I have a lazy streak (I'm blogging instead of doing laundry.)  I'm a procrastinator (I'll start on the laundry when I finish this blog).  I have many other weaknesses and failures, just like everyone else.  

I don't, however, struggle from thinking the world revolves around me.  And from the reaction of most people who read "The Purpose Driven Life" and the "Love Dare", I must be in the minority.

It's hard for me to believe that most of society is self-centred.

Reflections on Christmas

As any reader of this blog can tell (if, indeed, there are any), I am a Christian.

This time of year is special to me, as it is the time of year we celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus the Christ (by the way, Christ isn't Jesus' last name, but his title. Christ is the Greek version of the word Messiah.)

Truth
This time of year was celebrated by pagans long before the birth of the Christ. December 21st or 22nd marks the winter solstice, the time of year in which the sun appears to stand still. It marks the beginning of winter.

Jesus was not born in December. From hints in the text, we can assume he was born between August and October.

The reason we celebrate the birth of Jesus in December is that the Catholics super-imposed the birth of the Christ on top of the existing pagan celebrations.

Christmas is a secular and commercial holiday for 95% of the population of this country.

I know all that. Here are some other facts to consider.

2,000 years ago, an angel appeared to a virgin and told her she was going to have a child. This virgin's future husband knew that he hadn't had sex with her, she's pregnant. Logically, he thinks that she cheated on him, and was going to call everything off. An angel talked to him, and convinced him that she had not.

I know that this poor couple had a baby in a smelly barn, laying the baby in an animal's food trough. I know that angels appeared to shepherds in the fields and announced the birth.

I know that God himself came to Earth to redeem man. I know that keeping this monumental fact fresh in my mind is extremely important.

It doesn't matter if I mark the anniversary of Jesus' birth on December 25th, October 16th, or May 3rd. The important thing is that I mark it.

In the old testament, God created feast days that the Jews were to follow. The passover season is to remind them how God delivered them out of slavery. The feast of tabernacles reminded them of the provisions and protection of God while they wondered in the wilderness.

In the new testament, Jesus asked his followers to partake of the Lord's supper (communion) 'in remembrance of me'

A common theme is a formal remembrance of the blessings of God in our lives. It is vitally important for us humans to set aside a time to change our focus and make God our center of attention.

I choose to celebrate the birth of my savior and Christmas is a good of a time as any.

An ode to the Cellphone Camera

I hate the camera in my cellphone.  It's very low resolution (640X480), most of the time the pictures are blurry, and sometimes the lighting is such the pictures look stupid.

Even so, I love having a camera in my cellphone.   Every now and then, I see something unexpected, and I can capture it with my camera.

Sometimes, it's amusing, sometimes it's disturbing, and sometimes it's one of those indelible, iconic moments that turn to cherished memories .  

Today, I saw this car parked in fr

ont of our building.  It was rather unusual and amusing.

Especially, if you have kids, you need to have a cell phone camera, because you never know  when the 'cutest' moments will occur.

Case in point is Benny eating an ice cream cone at Little Huskies

Or the expression on his face while eating a tomatoe at Maw Maw Di's.

Camera phones rock. 

Nothingness

While doing some reading for school, I came across a reference to a philisophical world-view known as nihilism.

A good summation is " Existential nihilism begins with the notion that the world is without meaning or purpose. Given this circumstance, existence itself--all action, suffering, and feeling--is ultimately senseless and empty." (emphasis mine)

Let me sum it up.

• There is no God, no devil, no angles, no heaven, no hell, and no life after death
• We're nothing more than a cosmic accident
• We're nothing more than animals
• There is no higher authority than mere human contrivance.
• Right and wrong are abstractions created by the human mind. There is no right and wrong.
  
• There is no meaning to life
• There is no purpose in existence.
• We are born, we live, we die and there is nothing more than that
• All values, all goals, all accomplishments are, in the end, meaningless and temporary. Humanity's greatest achievements will not last.
  
• The ends justify the means.

This mindset, mixed with marxist dogma, explans where most liberals come from in their perspective of the world. They are steeped in this and conflict theory.

Since all that exists is now, and evil isn't real, we are to live our lives to maximize our pleasure and enjoyment in life. Whatever flips your switch is ok, as long as you don't bother me.

So all that is in the world is materialism and sensuality.

Also, since there is no objective right and wrong, the ends justifies the means.

No hope, no real joy, no meaning, no purpose, nothing that lasts. Nobody really matters.

These poor people don't know how deluded they are! Folks, there is a God!

Therefore I have a purpose. I have joy, meaning, and hope. I know that what I do matters. I know I matter, and I'm more than just an animal. There is a future, and right and wrong are not matters of opinion but fact.

Conformity

There are different types of conformity.  

Conformity is usually viewed as an evil.  It is not universally so.  

Conformity allows us to live in a society.  In order to live in peace together, we must conform our behavior to the norms of society, such as not killing people, not stealing, not abusing people, following the rules of the road, etc.

Conformity also identifies our membership in peer groups.  Every group has its own standards to which  its members must conform, and the group is identified by the those standards.  From the glee club to the Hell's Angels, each has its uniform and code of conduct.

Conformity also shows respect.  If I bow to a Japanese man, I am not materially conforming, just honoring the custom of the society.  If I wear a tie to a job interview, I am not 'putting on airs', but rather saying , "I respect you and your business and so I am conforming to your idea of how an interviewee is supposed to look"

Conformity, however has a bad side.  We are pressured by others to conform to their ways, in order to "fit in"  This conformity usually involves sacrificing our principals, morals or deeply held beliefs.

Basically, there are two types of conformity  internal and external conformity, or rather  immateriall and material conformity.  However you wish to define them, the basics are these.

Material conformity is conformity that requires you to concede a core principal, moral or standard, while immaterial conformity does not.

• If conforming requires you to change who you are, it's material.  
• If conforming requires you to change what you stand for, it's material.
• If conforming requires you to change your beliefs, then it's material.
• If conforming requires you to act in a way you feel is wrong, it's material.
• If conforming requires you to mistreat others, it's material.

Material conformity is usually wrong (unless, you're value system is way off base)

Immaterial conformity is a natural part of human society, and society couldn't function without it.  A smoker is conforming when he does not smoke in my house.

I say this because I know too many people who are see non-conformity of all stripes as honorable and right.   They confuse the two types.