My son and I were talking about it Sunday evening. About how much technology has changed. In my life time, I’m 63, and in the era of music storage we have gone from 78 rpm to 45 rpm to 33 1/3 long play records. Then came reel to reel, eight trac and cassette tapes. From there we went to CD and currently mp3 storage. My sister-in-law’s husband, who has worked in the laser development field, believes that the width of the transmission band on recording devices will be one atom wide (vs. the ¾ inch wide video transmission of several years ago). Where will it go from there? Who knows?
It seems that not only is technology changing but the rate of change is changing. It seems to be growing in an exponential rate. We can see it in our own lifetimes as we must purchase the latest and greatest piece of audio (or video) transmission electronics. High definition TV is only one of the latest; other formats will follow in rapid succession. It makes life interesting, complicated, fast paced and expensive.
K.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
"What time is it?" "Hey see that sun dial over there."
Did you feel it? It was hardly noticeable. It happened on Saturday, December. 22, 2007, at 1:08 A.M. Eastern Standard Time. It was the Winter solstice when we have the shortest day and the longest night (in the northern hemisphere). Depending upon the calendar shift, it can occur between December 20 and 23. The reverse happens between June 20 to 23 when the days start getting shorter.
To me, the winter solstice signals the beginning of a longer daylight cycle, the time more sunshine appears on my portion of the earth and starts to warm me up. It doesn't mean that we will instantly get warmer weather because there is something called a delay factor. February and March can still give us some nasty, cold, snowy days. But it's the beginning.
The part that interests me is how did the ancients know this? Remember Stonehenge, it was some sort of solar calculator that a primative group of people fingered out. How they determined that, I'll never know. Was it just pure dumb luck? Were they influenced by extra-terrestials? The Devel? Who knows. The point is they knew and I never could have figured that out. Maybe these are the guys that started Cambridge University.
K.
To me, the winter solstice signals the beginning of a longer daylight cycle, the time more sunshine appears on my portion of the earth and starts to warm me up. It doesn't mean that we will instantly get warmer weather because there is something called a delay factor. February and March can still give us some nasty, cold, snowy days. But it's the beginning.
The part that interests me is how did the ancients know this? Remember Stonehenge, it was some sort of solar calculator that a primative group of people fingered out. How they determined that, I'll never know. Was it just pure dumb luck? Were they influenced by extra-terrestials? The Devel? Who knows. The point is they knew and I never could have figured that out. Maybe these are the guys that started Cambridge University.
K.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me...
Well, the packages were all brought to the Christmas tree, carefully wrapped and loving placed there. They were selected for their relevance to their intended recipient, whether it was Mom or Dad, Uncle Dan or Aunt Sue. Each was meticulously chosen as if we were trying to make the best impression on that person for our very first meeting. The bows and ribbons are straight, the paper creaseless, and the anticipation overwhelming. And then the magic moment arrives. We eagerly wait for the gush of emotion as our intended profusely thanks us for our kindness and thoughtfulness.
But it never happens. If our gift opener is a very young child, the moment of expression lasts only as long until the next gift is presented and is torn open. The packaging: boxes, bows and paper lie scatter about as if a refuse heap. All our labor in wrapping and the selection process proves futile. It's the wrong color, size, type, "I have one just like it," etc. Perhaps teachers and people who specialize in social graces could instruct us how to lie with conviction. "Oh my God, how did you know it's just what I was looking for?" "This is just what I wanted, it's perfect." This last saying must be used very carefully if you're getting more than one gift at a family gathering, "This is the best gift I've even received."
We must realize that as the gift giver, the intended receiver has the ability to make or break this occasion. The giver in turn, has the ability to encourage its reception with the words "I spent all afternoon looking for this, especially for you, I do hope you like it." The guilt trip. Ah, the Christmas season, no wonder it comes only once a year.
K.
But it never happens. If our gift opener is a very young child, the moment of expression lasts only as long until the next gift is presented and is torn open. The packaging: boxes, bows and paper lie scatter about as if a refuse heap. All our labor in wrapping and the selection process proves futile. It's the wrong color, size, type, "I have one just like it," etc. Perhaps teachers and people who specialize in social graces could instruct us how to lie with conviction. "Oh my God, how did you know it's just what I was looking for?" "This is just what I wanted, it's perfect." This last saying must be used very carefully if you're getting more than one gift at a family gathering, "This is the best gift I've even received."
We must realize that as the gift giver, the intended receiver has the ability to make or break this occasion. The giver in turn, has the ability to encourage its reception with the words "I spent all afternoon looking for this, especially for you, I do hope you like it." The guilt trip. Ah, the Christmas season, no wonder it comes only once a year.
K.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Ho Ho HO little girl (or boy) What do you want for Christmas?
Now that Christmas is rapidly approaching, you have your Wish List all ready to go—to give to anyone who is willing to listen. If we could just eavesdrop upon ourselves we would hear "I want that and that and one of those, and may I have that please…" The real problem is that we are unappeasable, like an unquenchable fire. We must have more and more. "If I only had that new widget, I'd be happy." Then we get the widget, are we happy and satisfied? No! We want some thing else—today's latest and greatest, not yesterdays. Case in point: do you even remember what you received last Christmas?
I don't know if it's human nature or Western Culture that drives us this way. At any rate, if we were to hear ourselves, perhaps make a recording and listen to it a year or even ten years from now, we would sound like spoiled brats. The very item we want so badly will be tomorrow's junk and discard. Remember seeing parents standing hours in line to give their children a Cabbage Patch doll? Remember seeing people fight to get into that line? More recently we have seen people fight for an Ipod or Xbox 360? We really do need an attitude adjustment.
I remember going to a large school sponsored rummage sale; carefully packed away was a vintage reel-to-reel tape recorder. Nobody wanted it. It was just clutter. The real shame is that in its day this equipment was a very desirable piece, top-of-the-line. Today it's junk.
Please don't forget the real reason for this season, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King.
K.
I don't know if it's human nature or Western Culture that drives us this way. At any rate, if we were to hear ourselves, perhaps make a recording and listen to it a year or even ten years from now, we would sound like spoiled brats. The very item we want so badly will be tomorrow's junk and discard. Remember seeing parents standing hours in line to give their children a Cabbage Patch doll? Remember seeing people fight to get into that line? More recently we have seen people fight for an Ipod or Xbox 360? We really do need an attitude adjustment.
I remember going to a large school sponsored rummage sale; carefully packed away was a vintage reel-to-reel tape recorder. Nobody wanted it. It was just clutter. The real shame is that in its day this equipment was a very desirable piece, top-of-the-line. Today it's junk.
Please don't forget the real reason for this season, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King.
K.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
There is a time for all seasons, and one is a time to be happy.
My office had its annual Christmas party recently. It's a four-hour event that I look forward to each year and having been there 36 years, I have been to quite a number of them. It's a good time to interact with all of your colleagues, to learn of their goals and ambitions and discover their likes and dislikes. It is also an opportunity to see them in a totally different context, to view them in a non-working environment. Usually we play some type of icebreaker game that livens the party and you see the natural leaders and take charge type personalities come forth.
Do we really need liquor to have a good time? For some the answer is an unequivocal "Yes!" The great majority says, "It makes no difference to me, I'll go with the crowd." An infinitesimally smaller minority feels that it spoils this discovery, interaction process. While we're offered two free drinks, for some reason two is never enough and that seems to color the whole scene or make it tenuous at best. Indeed you do see others in a way that would normally not be familiar. You can be assured: what is spoken during these times is not hindered by constraint or inhibitions. This is raw feeling without boundaries. The kid gloves are off.
Of course for the latter group to even hint at this suggestion would be tantamount to being called a "spoil sport," "wet blanket" or "party pooper." It just won't fly. As the planners analyze the success of this event and begin to plan for the next, let us remember the real reason for this celebration. This time of the year is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
K.
Do we really need liquor to have a good time? For some the answer is an unequivocal "Yes!" The great majority says, "It makes no difference to me, I'll go with the crowd." An infinitesimally smaller minority feels that it spoils this discovery, interaction process. While we're offered two free drinks, for some reason two is never enough and that seems to color the whole scene or make it tenuous at best. Indeed you do see others in a way that would normally not be familiar. You can be assured: what is spoken during these times is not hindered by constraint or inhibitions. This is raw feeling without boundaries. The kid gloves are off.
Of course for the latter group to even hint at this suggestion would be tantamount to being called a "spoil sport," "wet blanket" or "party pooper." It just won't fly. As the planners analyze the success of this event and begin to plan for the next, let us remember the real reason for this celebration. This time of the year is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
K.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The Status Quo: The Body Count Increases & We Don’t Give a Damn
What is the difference between a law-abiding citizen who has the constitutional right, according to the National Rifle Association and their interpretation of the second amendment, to bear arms and a crazed individual? This person could have failed Anger Management 101, be chemically deranged, or mentally incompetent There is not much difference, the similarity exists the moment anyone takes a gun, aims it at another human being and pulls the trigger. There really isn't much to distinguish them. They are impossible to tell apart and this is what causes legislatures and the judicial system to vacillate back and forth.
All Americans have a constitutional right—the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that is not going to happen if they're shot to death. From data reported by the National Center of Injury Prevention and Control, during the years 1981 to and including 2004, 797,057 people died from gunshots, the same number of people living in Jacksonville, FL. Toss in the data from nonfatal gunshots from 2000 to 2004 and extrapolate it to that same period and you get 1,573,253 wounded people. That's greater than the population of Phoenix, AZ. We don't blink an eye about this; we have become numb to these statistics. It is something we have come to except. It's the American way of life.
The NRA loves it when a security guard evened things up with a killer as happened at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO this past Sunday. Jeanne Assam, the guard told reporters, "…I came out of cover and identified myself and engaged and took him down (killed him)." I applaud Assam; she did her job. She is a hero. My comment is WHY do we need to have an armed guard in a church, in the first place. What has happened to the fabric of the American character? Have we degraded to this state of affairs? Have we no shame? I don't believe in a gun in every house, and an ammo loading bench press in every garage. NRA, get off your soapbox, fight for gun regulation instead! Guns for professional security, period!
K.
All Americans have a constitutional right—the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that is not going to happen if they're shot to death. From data reported by the National Center of Injury Prevention and Control, during the years 1981 to and including 2004, 797,057 people died from gunshots, the same number of people living in Jacksonville, FL. Toss in the data from nonfatal gunshots from 2000 to 2004 and extrapolate it to that same period and you get 1,573,253 wounded people. That's greater than the population of Phoenix, AZ. We don't blink an eye about this; we have become numb to these statistics. It is something we have come to except. It's the American way of life.
The NRA loves it when a security guard evened things up with a killer as happened at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO this past Sunday. Jeanne Assam, the guard told reporters, "…I came out of cover and identified myself and engaged and took him down (killed him)." I applaud Assam; she did her job. She is a hero. My comment is WHY do we need to have an armed guard in a church, in the first place. What has happened to the fabric of the American character? Have we degraded to this state of affairs? Have we no shame? I don't believe in a gun in every house, and an ammo loading bench press in every garage. NRA, get off your soapbox, fight for gun regulation instead! Guns for professional security, period!
K.
Christmas Past
We decorated our Christmas tree this evening. What makes this year so different? Well, there are no kids to help or do it for us, this year; our youngest son and his wife have their own traditions to establish. And I don't blame them. Christmas tree decoration is for families and now they have their own. It's also one of the first years in a long time that my wife and I didn't argue; we both must have realized the importance and significance of working together as a unit.
We had very few commercial ornaments; the tree was covered with handmade ones from bits of felt, macaroni, lace trim, string, and glue. There was the metal juice can bottom that had been punched out like a sieve to represent an angel. There was a cookie cutter stamped out star with one point missing, my third son's picture glued in the center reminding us as to who made it and from the clothes letting us guess which year. A yellowed, slightly crushed angel made from a paper plate with cutout wings adorned the topmost branch; there was no name to indicate its builder. There was a miniature sled made from popcycle sticks, carefully glued together with the words "1980 Merry Christmas, Paul, Shore Haven" (the Lutheran Church we attend). A commercially made "Twenty five years together, 1990," ornament reminded us of our first holiday as newlyweds.
There were handmade ornaments from one of the four grandmothers, dotingly switched together. My wife told me they had been fished out of the trash when that grandma had given up her house and moved into the smaller quarters of assisted living. The ornament had come around—full circle; from lovingly crafted, hanging on a tree decades ago to worthless maudlin refuse back again to cherished heirloom reminding us of grandparents living during a Depression era Christmas. The simple stuff had much more meaning for us then the "Kodak Moment" material shown in the national slick magazines.
After the waves of nostalgia had come and gone, we realized we weren't really alone, we had the memories of Christmas Past to accompanying us. We remembered happy times and pleasant thoughts. We knew we had loved and been loved in return and we look forward to seeing our grandchildren's faces when they saw our tree.
K
We had very few commercial ornaments; the tree was covered with handmade ones from bits of felt, macaroni, lace trim, string, and glue. There was the metal juice can bottom that had been punched out like a sieve to represent an angel. There was a cookie cutter stamped out star with one point missing, my third son's picture glued in the center reminding us as to who made it and from the clothes letting us guess which year. A yellowed, slightly crushed angel made from a paper plate with cutout wings adorned the topmost branch; there was no name to indicate its builder. There was a miniature sled made from popcycle sticks, carefully glued together with the words "1980 Merry Christmas, Paul, Shore Haven" (the Lutheran Church we attend). A commercially made "Twenty five years together, 1990," ornament reminded us of our first holiday as newlyweds.
There were handmade ornaments from one of the four grandmothers, dotingly switched together. My wife told me they had been fished out of the trash when that grandma had given up her house and moved into the smaller quarters of assisted living. The ornament had come around—full circle; from lovingly crafted, hanging on a tree decades ago to worthless maudlin refuse back again to cherished heirloom reminding us of grandparents living during a Depression era Christmas. The simple stuff had much more meaning for us then the "Kodak Moment" material shown in the national slick magazines.
After the waves of nostalgia had come and gone, we realized we weren't really alone, we had the memories of Christmas Past to accompanying us. We remembered happy times and pleasant thoughts. We knew we had loved and been loved in return and we look forward to seeing our grandchildren's faces when they saw our tree.
K
Sunday, December 9, 2007
National Rifle Association. stop the Blood Bath!
The National Center of Injury Prevention and Control reported between 2001 and 2004, there were 119,520 firearm deaths in the United States. During that same period there were 252,076 nonfatal injuries due to guns. This is the equivalent to having the nation of Guam wiped off the face of the earth in a four-year period or nearly everyone in Iceland getting shot in four years. If this were the case, there would be investigations of all sorts. The United Nations would have scores of supports group landing their experts on these two island countries to determine the source of this carnage. We in America calmly accept these numbers as a fact of our way of life. Guns and Americans go hand-in-hand just kids used to play "cowboys and Indians."
What is this fascination that we have in this device? What control do guns and firearms play on the American psyche? The crux of it, the magic word, is control. Firearms played a key role in the settling of the Wild West. They were used to protect, hunt, and provide general security in an age, at a time when we needed it. Today, such is not the case, we don't live off the land, and there are no large herds of wild animals outside our tents waiting to devour us. There are no hostile natives threatening our very existence. So what gives?
Guns give the owner the power of control, in some circles prestige, the very embodiment of life over death. Even an empty gun still offers some semblance of the image. The era in which they were essential is long gone, disappeared nearly one hundred years earlier. We have a well-armed militia called the National Guard, we don't have to look far; there is one in every state of the Union. These Weekend Warriors are ready to serve and protect. We don't need a quasi unit made up of thrill seekers, malcontents or hotheads. We need an organization that believes in gun education, training and control, not the right to gun possession no matter what the mental condition of the gun owner. If the National Rifle Association cannot provide these guarantees, we should look for another.
K.
What is this fascination that we have in this device? What control do guns and firearms play on the American psyche? The crux of it, the magic word, is control. Firearms played a key role in the settling of the Wild West. They were used to protect, hunt, and provide general security in an age, at a time when we needed it. Today, such is not the case, we don't live off the land, and there are no large herds of wild animals outside our tents waiting to devour us. There are no hostile natives threatening our very existence. So what gives?
Guns give the owner the power of control, in some circles prestige, the very embodiment of life over death. Even an empty gun still offers some semblance of the image. The era in which they were essential is long gone, disappeared nearly one hundred years earlier. We have a well-armed militia called the National Guard, we don't have to look far; there is one in every state of the Union. These Weekend Warriors are ready to serve and protect. We don't need a quasi unit made up of thrill seekers, malcontents or hotheads. We need an organization that believes in gun education, training and control, not the right to gun possession no matter what the mental condition of the gun owner. If the National Rifle Association cannot provide these guarantees, we should look for another.
K.
Friday, December 7, 2007
The NRA thinks the Right to Bear Arms is more important than safety.
Just weeks before the fatal shooting of eight people at the Omaha Mall on December 6th the National Rifle Association sent out this news release:
"Friday, August 24, 2007
"On Tuesday, August 28 the Omaha City Council will consider a proposed ordinance aimed at reducing crime in the city. Part of the proposal calls for the destruction of any firearm used in a crime. This proposal will destroy the property of law-abiding gun owners who have already been victimized by having their firearm stolen from them.
"Councilman Chuck Sigerson, Jr. is proposing an amendment that would allow a legally-owned firearm that has been stolen and used in a crime to be returned to the rightful owner, as long as it was reported stolen to police.
"Please attend the City Council meeting and protect our Second Amendment and private property rights. Tuesday, August 28, 2:00pm, 1819 Farnam St., Suite LC-1, Omaha, NE 68183.
"If you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact the members of the City Council and respectfully urge them to support Councilman Sigerson's amendment to protect firearms stolen from law-abiding citizens from being destroyed…"
Copyright 2007, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. This may be reproduced.
If Councilman Sigerson and the NRA have their way, the very rifle that was used in the eight murders could be returned to its owner. What is even more amazing is that President Bush was in Omaha for a fund-raiser just an hour before the shootings. Hopefully the Secret Service will consider getting involved in the investigation to determine what, if anything could have been done to protect the President in this near threatening situation.
On February 7th the NRA posted a story about Utah State Senate Bill 251 which proposed to allow Utah colleges to ban guns in faculty offices and permits students living in the Residence Halls to decide if they want to live with concealed weapons permit holders. Days later an 18-year-old trench coat-clad gunman killed 5 people and wounded 4 at the Trolley Square shopping mall before being fatally shot by police. "He calmly fired a shotgun at his victims and had a handgun," authorities and witnesses said.
As a result of April 20, 1999, when two seniors at Columbine High School killed 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 23 others, Colorado inacted Project Exile. That program, advertised on billboards and bus benches, promises hard time for violating gun laws. On December 8, 2003, NRA's Institute for Legislative Action told its readers that 172 Colorado defendants were charged in fiscal 2003 with federal firearms violations. Some of the top sentences during that time period are listed below by last name, year, case number, offense and sentence:
HIGHTOWER 02 CR 040 Drug trafficking; felon in possession 26 yrs., 7 mths.; RAMBO 03 CR 014 Use of firearm during violent crime 25 yrs.; HERRON 03 CR 161 Armed career criminal 19 yrs. 7 mths.; TAYLOR 03 CR 288 Armed career criminal 19 yrs, 7 mths; MARTIN 03 CR 252 Armed career criminal 19 yrs., 7 mths.; LEDFORD 03 CR 429 Armed career criminal 16 yrs., 8 mths.; GREER 02 CR 184 Armed bank robbery 15 yrs., 8 mths.; DOOLEY 02 CR 324 Armed career criminal 15 yrs., 8 mths.; ELEAZER 02 CR 076 Drug trafficking; felon in possession 14 yrs., 7 mths.; PADILLA 03 CR 151 Drug trafficking; felon in possession 13 yrs., 3 mths.; NUNEZ 02 CR 518 Use of firearm during violent crime 12 yrs., 6 mths.; STEVENS 02 CR 148 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 11 yrs., 5 mths.; CHAVEZ 02 CR 571 Armed bank robbery 11 yrs.; GARCIA 02 CR 265 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 10 yrs.; 10 mths.; RAMOS-SANCHEZ 02 CR 105 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 10 yrs., SINGLEVICH 02 CR 477 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 10 yrs.; and last, but not least, PARKS 03 CR 490 Felon in possession 10 yrs.
On January 20, 2004, the same NRA legislative arm urged its readers to call their Representatives to ensure that law-abiding gun owners and dealers could conduct business without inadvertently violating the law. HB 1012 clarified legal language contained in Amendment 22, the gun law passed by Colorado voters in 1999.
NRA get off your soapbox and don't mislead, dupe or lie to the public with your deceptions and half-truths. Stick with what you know best, gun safety, and instruction.
K.
"Friday, August 24, 2007
"On Tuesday, August 28 the Omaha City Council will consider a proposed ordinance aimed at reducing crime in the city. Part of the proposal calls for the destruction of any firearm used in a crime. This proposal will destroy the property of law-abiding gun owners who have already been victimized by having their firearm stolen from them.
"Councilman Chuck Sigerson, Jr. is proposing an amendment that would allow a legally-owned firearm that has been stolen and used in a crime to be returned to the rightful owner, as long as it was reported stolen to police.
"Please attend the City Council meeting and protect our Second Amendment and private property rights. Tuesday, August 28, 2:00pm, 1819 Farnam St., Suite LC-1, Omaha, NE 68183.
"If you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact the members of the City Council and respectfully urge them to support Councilman Sigerson's amendment to protect firearms stolen from law-abiding citizens from being destroyed…"
Copyright 2007, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. This may be reproduced.
If Councilman Sigerson and the NRA have their way, the very rifle that was used in the eight murders could be returned to its owner. What is even more amazing is that President Bush was in Omaha for a fund-raiser just an hour before the shootings. Hopefully the Secret Service will consider getting involved in the investigation to determine what, if anything could have been done to protect the President in this near threatening situation.
On February 7th the NRA posted a story about Utah State Senate Bill 251 which proposed to allow Utah colleges to ban guns in faculty offices and permits students living in the Residence Halls to decide if they want to live with concealed weapons permit holders. Days later an 18-year-old trench coat-clad gunman killed 5 people and wounded 4 at the Trolley Square shopping mall before being fatally shot by police. "He calmly fired a shotgun at his victims and had a handgun," authorities and witnesses said.
As a result of April 20, 1999, when two seniors at Columbine High School killed 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 23 others, Colorado inacted Project Exile. That program, advertised on billboards and bus benches, promises hard time for violating gun laws. On December 8, 2003, NRA's Institute for Legislative Action told its readers that 172 Colorado defendants were charged in fiscal 2003 with federal firearms violations. Some of the top sentences during that time period are listed below by last name, year, case number, offense and sentence:
HIGHTOWER 02 CR 040 Drug trafficking; felon in possession 26 yrs., 7 mths.; RAMBO 03 CR 014 Use of firearm during violent crime 25 yrs.; HERRON 03 CR 161 Armed career criminal 19 yrs. 7 mths.; TAYLOR 03 CR 288 Armed career criminal 19 yrs, 7 mths; MARTIN 03 CR 252 Armed career criminal 19 yrs., 7 mths.; LEDFORD 03 CR 429 Armed career criminal 16 yrs., 8 mths.; GREER 02 CR 184 Armed bank robbery 15 yrs., 8 mths.; DOOLEY 02 CR 324 Armed career criminal 15 yrs., 8 mths.; ELEAZER 02 CR 076 Drug trafficking; felon in possession 14 yrs., 7 mths.; PADILLA 03 CR 151 Drug trafficking; felon in possession 13 yrs., 3 mths.; NUNEZ 02 CR 518 Use of firearm during violent crime 12 yrs., 6 mths.; STEVENS 02 CR 148 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 11 yrs., 5 mths.; CHAVEZ 02 CR 571 Armed bank robbery 11 yrs.; GARCIA 02 CR 265 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 10 yrs.; 10 mths.; RAMOS-SANCHEZ 02 CR 105 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 10 yrs., SINGLEVICH 02 CR 477 Drug trafficking; use of firearm 10 yrs.; and last, but not least, PARKS 03 CR 490 Felon in possession 10 yrs.
On January 20, 2004, the same NRA legislative arm urged its readers to call their Representatives to ensure that law-abiding gun owners and dealers could conduct business without inadvertently violating the law. HB 1012 clarified legal language contained in Amendment 22, the gun law passed by Colorado voters in 1999.
NRA get off your soapbox and don't mislead, dupe or lie to the public with your deceptions and half-truths. Stick with what you know best, gun safety, and instruction.
K.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
My Daddy’s Name Is Donor
Dr. S. K., a Nassau County New York doctor donated his sperm to a work colleague, a female resident, Dr. P.D., at his hospital so she could conceive a child for herself and her female partner. At the time of the baby's birth in 1989, the man orally agreed he would not have any rights or benefits in the child's upbringing. He included his name on the child's birth certificate, saying it would give the boy an identity, courts documents revealed. He further blurred the lines between donor and full-time father by sending money, presents and cards signed "Dad" and "Daddy," and having phone chats with the now college-bound teen. The father said he had contact with the child from his birth until 1993, when the lesbian couple and his son moved to Oregon. The contact dropped to seven phone calls in the past 15 years and one meeting for a few hours three years ago. He was assured that he would have no responsibility on his part and of course 18 years has elapsed where there hasn't been responsibility.
Dr. S. K.'s goodwill backfired: A court ruling says he is now liable for financial support of the 18-year-old, who lives with his mother in Oregon. "He did not anticipate this would happen now, when the child is almost an adult, that the mother would come forward for child support," said his lawyer. The child signed an affidavit stating that he has "never known anyone other than Dr. S. K. to be his father," according to court documents. If payments were to go ahead, the child support would be determined based on the mother's earning capacity; the reported income of her partner, who is also a doctor; and the father's income.
Consider a case before the Kansas Supreme Court. An unmarried woman in her early thirties decided that she wanted a child and asked a friend to be a sperm donor. He agreed, and she gives birth to twins. The mother says that she always intended to raise the kids alone and never wanted the friend involved in their lives. The donor says that he planned to be the twins' father in name and practice. There was no written contract. A lower Kansas trial court ruled that without a contract, the twins have no father. The man who provided half of the children's genetic material has no relationship to them.
Now let us toss in the Artificial Insemination industry. Every year more than 80,000 women are inseminated artificially with sperm from men they do not know. In their attempt to have a baby, they may unknowingly be putting themselves at risk of contracting infectious diseases, such as AIDS and hepatitis, and the baby at risk of genetic defects. In some cases, the outcome of the health of the baby can be like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off in a few short months or decades later.
In most cases, couples choose artificial insemination with donor semen because the husband is infertile. The increasingly popular technique - which has spawned a $164 million a year industry with 11,000 private physicians, 400 sperm banks and infertility centers - is responsible for the birth of 30,000 babies annually.
Dr. Cappy Miles Rothman, who runs the nation's largest sperm bank, the California Cryobank, in Los Angeles, says that many physicians are reluctant to keep records on the grounds that men would not donate semen if they thought their identities could become known. The California Cryobank does keep donor records, but Rothman speculates that many donors ''worry that if their children could figure out who they are, might try to claim their estate or one day pop-up and say, 'Hi, Dad' ''
As the count system tries to unravel these mysteries on a case-by-case basis, we can only second-guess the judges' rulings. The biblical Solomon would have been a nervous wreck with all the potential problems brought before his throne. Can the parents of a sperm donor be the grandparents? Do they have visitation rights? Can a child conceived through Artifical Insemination inherit property from the biological father? Can a child have two lesbian mothers and no father or two mothers and a father? Can the lesbian partner of a biological mother have custody rights if the couple breaks up? Does the woman have the right to visit the child she diapered, fed, and read to for five years before she and her partner split up? Can she be required to pay child support? Once again, who are the grandparents?
K.
Dr. S. K.'s goodwill backfired: A court ruling says he is now liable for financial support of the 18-year-old, who lives with his mother in Oregon. "He did not anticipate this would happen now, when the child is almost an adult, that the mother would come forward for child support," said his lawyer. The child signed an affidavit stating that he has "never known anyone other than Dr. S. K. to be his father," according to court documents. If payments were to go ahead, the child support would be determined based on the mother's earning capacity; the reported income of her partner, who is also a doctor; and the father's income.
Consider a case before the Kansas Supreme Court. An unmarried woman in her early thirties decided that she wanted a child and asked a friend to be a sperm donor. He agreed, and she gives birth to twins. The mother says that she always intended to raise the kids alone and never wanted the friend involved in their lives. The donor says that he planned to be the twins' father in name and practice. There was no written contract. A lower Kansas trial court ruled that without a contract, the twins have no father. The man who provided half of the children's genetic material has no relationship to them.
Now let us toss in the Artificial Insemination industry. Every year more than 80,000 women are inseminated artificially with sperm from men they do not know. In their attempt to have a baby, they may unknowingly be putting themselves at risk of contracting infectious diseases, such as AIDS and hepatitis, and the baby at risk of genetic defects. In some cases, the outcome of the health of the baby can be like a ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off in a few short months or decades later.
In most cases, couples choose artificial insemination with donor semen because the husband is infertile. The increasingly popular technique - which has spawned a $164 million a year industry with 11,000 private physicians, 400 sperm banks and infertility centers - is responsible for the birth of 30,000 babies annually.
Dr. Cappy Miles Rothman, who runs the nation's largest sperm bank, the California Cryobank, in Los Angeles, says that many physicians are reluctant to keep records on the grounds that men would not donate semen if they thought their identities could become known. The California Cryobank does keep donor records, but Rothman speculates that many donors ''worry that if their children could figure out who they are, might try to claim their estate or one day pop-up and say, 'Hi, Dad' ''
As the count system tries to unravel these mysteries on a case-by-case basis, we can only second-guess the judges' rulings. The biblical Solomon would have been a nervous wreck with all the potential problems brought before his throne. Can the parents of a sperm donor be the grandparents? Do they have visitation rights? Can a child conceived through Artifical Insemination inherit property from the biological father? Can a child have two lesbian mothers and no father or two mothers and a father? Can the lesbian partner of a biological mother have custody rights if the couple breaks up? Does the woman have the right to visit the child she diapered, fed, and read to for five years before she and her partner split up? Can she be required to pay child support? Once again, who are the grandparents?
K.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Could you be the next pistol packin’ Mama?
Well, the results are in; the United States is not first in the world in murders by guns per 1000 peoples. We 're only the eight, which certainly should make the National Rifle Association happy (they always feel their being picked on for their stance on the right to bare arms). The number one country is South Africa, followed by Columbia, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Belarus, and Costa Rica. U.S. is next followed by Uruguay, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Estonia, the former Yugoslav Republic (now Macedonia), Bulgaria, Portugal and Slovenia. Switzerland is number 19 (don't piss off the Swiss, they make more than just knives) then Canada, Germany, Moldova, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Ireland, Australia. Denmark is 28 then Spain, Azerbaijan, New Zealand, and last on this list the United Kingdom.
What are the five worst states in the U.S. and what are the five best based on the firearm death rate per 100,000 people. The worst place although not a state is the District of Columbia. Isn't that where the NRA has their national headquarters? No wonder Charleston Heston, former NRA president said "I'll give up my gun when they pry it from my cold dead hands." He packed a gun to work each day. Number one state is (surprise) Alaska followed by Louisiana, Wyoming Arizona, Mississippi and Nevada. Hawaii was the safest, while the next safest is Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
A several states have absolutely no gun restrictions at all; they are: Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Which means anything goes. Now, knowing this don't you feel much safer?
K.
What are the five worst states in the U.S. and what are the five best based on the firearm death rate per 100,000 people. The worst place although not a state is the District of Columbia. Isn't that where the NRA has their national headquarters? No wonder Charleston Heston, former NRA president said "I'll give up my gun when they pry it from my cold dead hands." He packed a gun to work each day. Number one state is (surprise) Alaska followed by Louisiana, Wyoming Arizona, Mississippi and Nevada. Hawaii was the safest, while the next safest is Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
A several states have absolutely no gun restrictions at all; they are: Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Which means anything goes. Now, knowing this don't you feel much safer?
K.
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