Free Republic

We went to the Life Chain today. About 55 people showed up. We spread ourselves around the Court Square. A welcome from the president of the county Right to Life chapter, then an hour of silent prayer. Some friendly honks from passing cars. No hostile comments or gestures. I hope it did some good.

I’m at Vandenberg Air Force Base. My wife and I came to see the launch of Icesat2, a satellite intended to measure the thickness of the polar ice caps. Our son Tony designed the laser altimeters on Icesat, which measure the height above the geoid of the ice, of forests, and other objects. The launch vehicle was a Delta rocket. The Delta was derived from the Air Force’s old Thor missile. This was the last launch of a Delta. It’s now obsolete and being retired. For me, it closed out some personal history. Back in the late ‘fifties, I was...

Update following my accident.

Two weeks ago I fell down my basement steps. We had put a new security door on the front of the house. I was carrying the old screen door down to the basement. I remember losing my balance and starting to fall. The next thing I remember was the EMTs trying to slide a backboard under me so they could carry me to the ambulance. X-rays and CAT scan found only one bone broken, a vertebra. I'm wearing a back brace for that. However, my right side was covered with bruises in glorious technicolor. Very painful for several days. The...

A Just War analysis of a proposed attack on Syria. There are eight specific criteria for judging the justice of a war, and the justice of actions within a war. Six of these deal with the justice of going to war ("waging a just war); the other two deal with the justice of actions within a war ("waging war justly"). The first criterion is "just cause." There are three classic just causes: to repel an attack, to retake what was taken unjustly, and to come to the aid of the victim of an unjust attack. Clearly the first two do...

Here's more from Ms. Berlinski on the Turkish protests. Looks like Obama botched asnother one.

Here's an eyewitness diary of the events in Turkey. My friends there have given me some information, but this is a more comprehensive view than anything I've received directly. I don't know the author, but I know the area she writes of, and it sounds like she knows what she's talking about.

This is really amazing. The Smithsonian has developed a digital reconstruction of the Battle of Gettysburg, showing not only the map and movement of the respective armies, but what was visible to each side during the battle. Well worth looking at.

Saturday (9/22/12) I attended the induction ceremonies for the Canadian Walk of Fame. My wife's brother, the late Phil Hartman, was being inducted into the Walk of Fame. The Walk honors Canadians who have shown excellence in almost any field, including sports and the arts. Every presenter, and every inductee, commented on how the Walk of Fame was intended to encourage pride in Canada and in things Canadian. As I listened, the thought struck me, that it's been a long time since I heard anyone in the US say anything about encouraging pride in America and in things American. Not...

The day started off with rain. Fortunately the rain had ended by the time of the Tea Party. Even so, there was an overcast and chilly wind, with temperature of 45 degrees. Despite the unfavorable weather, the Shelby County/Sidney (Ohio) Tea Party was a success. Estimated turnout about 500 people. Not bad for town of 20,000 people. Speakers included our State Senator and our State Representative. A former Sidney mayor read a statement from our Congressman, who was speaking in person at Tea Party in Dayton. Other local citizens spoke, including yours truly. The speeches weren't polished, but they were...

The day started off with rain. Fortunately the rain had ended by the time of the Tea Party. Even so, there was an overcast and chilly wind, with temperature of 45 degrees. Despite the unfavorable weather, the Shelby County/Sidney (Ohio) Tea Party was a success. Estimated turnout about 500 people. Not bad for town of 20,000 people. Speakers included our State Senator and our State Representative. A former Sidney mayor read a statement from our Congressman, who was speaking in person at Tea Party in Dayton. Other local citizens spoke, including yours truly. The speeches weren't polished, but they were...

Swett, Scott and Tim Ziegler, To Set the Record Straight, 2007, New American Media, 389 pp., index, ISBN 978-0-9799841-5-0. $29.95 Full disclosure: The first author's father and I served together at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, 1968 - 1972. I do not recall ever meeting the first author. The thread that runs through this book is how the Swift Boat Veterans attempted to bring out the truth about John Kerry's service in Vietnam and his collaboration with the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese afterwards. However, it covers a great deal more than that. The opening chapters deal with how the...

My wife is an officer of the Constitution Party of Ohio. She attended the National Committee Meeting in Council Bluffs, Iowa, 10/25/07. I went along as a non-voting observer. I am posting my notes taken at the meeting. The official minutes will be posted on the website of the Constitution Party. Any discrepancy between my notes and the official minutes should be resolved in favor of the official minutes. Constitution Party National Committee Meeting Looking toward the 2008 election There was agreement that 2008 presents an opportunity for the CP, if bad candidates are offered by both parties. It will...

Review of new book September Day by Freeper Larry Schweikart.

Attempted Genocide and ethnic cleansing in Cyprus. Michael Stephen* The assertion by Mr. Christides (May 10) that there was no ethnic cleansing or attempted genocide of Turkish Cyprriots by Greek Cypriots is ridiculous. Until influential Greek Cypriots come to terms with the appalling behavior of their community toward the smaller Turkish Cypriot community and stop trying to persuade themselves and the world that each side was as much to blame as the other, there will be no reconciliation in Cyprus. In his memoirs, American Undersecretary of State George Ball said: "Makarios's central interest was to block off Turkish intervention so...

DAYTON, Ohio — Twenty years ago, Neil Armstrong made “one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, manned space exploration has been one giant leap forward, two giant leaps backward. When the movie 2001 appeared in 1968, the idea of 10,000 people on the moon by 2001 was believable. All it would take was to continue the moon program already begun. Now we know there won’t be even 10 people on the moon by 2001. NASA doesn’t plan to go back to the moon until the 21st century. That’s disappointed many of us. As a child, I avidly read Flash Gordon...

For years, Heartland's founder, Dave Padden, urged me to become a more vocal proponent of drug legalization. I begged off: It's too controversial, it splits the conervative-libertarian alliance we're trying to build, it's too emotionally charged. Recent events, which you may already have heard about through other channels, have convinced me I was wrong. Read rest of article here

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release December 20, 2000 EXECUTIVE ORDER - - - - - - - TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION IN OVERSIGHT INVESTIGATIONS By the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the Government of the United States that law enforcement may not use protected health information concerning an individual that is discovered during the course of health oversight ...

Dickson to challenge DeWine Gun show promoter calls US Senator 'turncoat' and 'weasel' By William Hershey Dayton Daily News (October 22, 1999) OXFORD - Calling U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine a "turncoat" and a "wease1," Butler County gun show promoter Ronald Dickson said Thursday he'll take on DeWine in the Republican primary next March 7. DeWine's main offense, said Dickson, was voting last May for an amendment to require background checks for sales at gun shows. The Senate deadlocked 50-50 on the proposal until Vice President Al Gore cast the deciding vote in favor. The amendment, written by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, ...