Memorial Day 2006

I'm still hurting - I still miss Doc so much. I didn't really think it would still be this painful. It has been especially painful of late because suddenly, it has become clear to me that some he really thought cared for him did not.

I wish them ill. I would never do anything actively, but I wish them ill. No good can ever come of not fulfilling someone's wishes when they are gone from this earth. There is no financial gain large enough to justify not honoring those who have left us. Shame on those who do so.

I will visit Doc again a week from now. I expect to find his grave just as I left it, sadly enough. I will clean it up, plant some flowers, talk to him, listen to the wind, wish I could hear his voice again.

A reminder to those who would forget why May 30th should be important to all of us.

HEADQUARTERS GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLICGeneral Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868

The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance.

All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.

If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.

Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from his honor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.

It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to lend its friendly aid in bringing to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.

Department commanders will use efforts to make this order effective.

By order of
JOHN A. LOGAN,Commander-in-Chief
N.P. CHIPMAN,Adjutant General
Official:WM. T. COLLINS, A.A.G.

Life's moments....

Someone sent me this link today - it being Mother's Day and all. Watching it, I thought back over raising my boys.

I raised two - they're 25 and 37 now.

When the youngest was about ten, the two of them were wrestling around in the family room and the elder knocked the other's (already loose) tooth out - the younger promptly swallowed it, choking half to death as it apparently got stuck on his uvula or something part way down and then, ticked off because his big brother was laughing at him, just as promptly kicked his brother in the face, giving him a bloody nose.

I came around the corner to find them both covered in blood and my older son, in his early twenties, on the floor cradling his bloody face, with my younger son standing over him, blood pouring down his chin and shirt, screaming, "I want my f***ing tooth back."

The tableau froze.

I was.... well, let's just say, less than amused at the time, but even now it makes me laugh.....

Proverbs Chapter 31

My mother has been gone a long time - perhaps always - but I know this about a good woman - her price is far above rubies - and I wish all good women a Happy Mother's Day.

31:10 Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies.
31:11 The heart of her husband trusts in her. He shall have no lack of gain.
31:12 She does him good, and not harm, All the days of her life.
31:13 She seeks wool and flax, And works eagerly with her hands.
31:14 She is like the merchant ships. She brings her bread from afar.
31:15 She rises also while it is yet night, Gives food to her household, And portions for her servant girls.
31:16 She considers a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.
31:17 She girds her loins with strength, And makes her arms strong.
31:18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp doesn't go out by night.
31:19 She lays her hands to the distaff, And her hands hold the spindle.
31:20 She opens her arms to the poor; Yes, she extends her hands to the needy.
31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household; For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
31:22 She makes for herself carpets of tapestry. Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
31:23 Her husband is respected in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
31:24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And delivers sashes to the merchant.
31:25 Strength and dignity are her clothing. She laughs at the time to come.
31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom. Faithful instruction is on her tongue.
31:27 She looks well to the ways of her household, And doesn't eat the bread of idleness.
31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her:
31:29 "Many women do noble things, But you excel them all."
31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain; But a woman who fears Yahweh, she shall be praised.
31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands! Let her works praise her in the gates!

Spider-Man? I have vertigo, for heaven's sake!

Your results:
You are Spider-Man - You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.

Superhero Personality Test

Geocaching

I decided that I need to do something new - seeing as I am an Earth Science geek as well as a computer geek, this seemed like it might be an amusing idea.

Amusing isn't the half of it. First, I sort of vaguely snuck out because heaven forbid I should announce I was going off to try this and come back empty-handed, not having been able to find my way to the corner, let alone someone's artfully hidden cache.

For thos of you who don't have a clue what geocaching (geo-cashing, like cashing a check) is, it's definitely a sport and it can be done alone, with a friend, or in a group. I suspect I will do much of mine on my own as I tend to have a fairly random schedule.

What is it and where'd it come from?

Prior to May 2, 2000, Global Positioning Systems had a built-in error known as selective availability which intentionally degraded the GPS signal that private citizens were able to receive. On that day, however, the White House changed policy. Twenty-four satellites around the globe processed their new orders, and instantly the accuracy of GPS technology improved tenfold. Tens of thousands of GPS receivers around the world suddenly saw an upgraded, and very precise signal change.

By the following day, of course, a computer geek named Dave Ulmer apparently thought, "Whoo-hoo - now I can really use this multi-billion dollar satellite system for something worthwhile!"

He decided to test the accuracy of GPS by hiding a small container, a little black bucket in fact, out in the woods and noting the coordinates with a GPS unit. He called the idea the "Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and posted it in an internet GPS users' group. The idea was, someone else would then have to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver. The rules for the finder were simple: "Take some stuff, leave some stuff."

On May 3rd he placed his own container, a black bucket, in the woods near Beaver Creek, Oregon, close to Portland. Along with a logbook and pencil, he left various items including videos, books, software, and a slingshot. He the posted the waypoint of his "stash" with the online community on sci.geo.satellite-nav:

N 45 17.460 W 122 24.800

The stash took three days to find, and the "winner" was Mike Teague. From there, geocaching took off and now there are well over a quarter million caches world-wide.

The rules are very simple:

1. Take something from the cache (not strictly required).

2. Leave something in the cache (not strictly required).

3. Write about it in the logbook - and very often, online as well (pretty much required).

I took a sheet of Tigger stickers - whoo-hoo! I left two campaign buttons from Michigan's 2004 election cycle and an oyster shell I found on the beach on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina. I then proceeded to write the wrong darned date in the logbook! But I had a great time and felt decidedly victorious.

When I decided to give this a shot, I simply went to Google and googled up geocaching + Michigan and went from there. You should, too. Good day, out in the fresh air and sun - and what a rush when I actually found the cache! Life is an adventure - if you wish it to be.

I'm so cheap and Staples is so Great...

I shop at Staples all the time - yes, I know it's an office supply place and who really enjoys shopping at an office supply place but still....

I get a Teacher's Rewards discount that lets me get free shipping, no matter how small the order, and then gives me two percent of what I spend back every quarter.

So today I went shopping for some of this and some of that and had a coupon for 12% off in store, and my rewards check for $20 (they rounded up from $19.60) and then, in addition, another rewards check for $30.

So how'd I get two rewards checks? Well, I had misplaced my previous quarter's check and called the Rewards Center and explained my loss and they sent me a replacement for it without any problem at all.

Excellent service, excellent products, next day delivery whether my order is $2.00 or $200 and a percentage of every purchase goes right back into my pocket.

Oh, yeah, and $60.99 worth of stuff for sixty-eight cents. What more can you ask for?

Castle Doctrine - NRA-ILA supports activism

Several days ago my blog called for the support of HB 5143 in Michigan - a Bill that has come to be known as "Castle Doctrine." I gave reasons for my support and called for communication with members of the Committee that will be hearing the Legislation on April 18th at 10:30 AM.

One Michigan group met with Representative Rick Jones on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 and asked how they could help get this Bill through committee. He advised that letters needed to be written and those of us who are committed to moving pro-gun legislation set to work. We wrote letters, made phone calls, posted to various message boards and blogs and generally spread the word.

On Friday, April 14, 2006, another Michigan group sent out and email alert to its members saying, among other things, "While others continue to blindly bang the drum for calls and letters to Legislators..." and more or less advised us that they'd take care of everything.

Sadly, it would seem that whoever is responsible for emails such as this simply does not understand the way the political system works.

With hundreds of emails and letters generated by the Brady Bunch and their anti-gun political machine, how could any responsible, and supposedly pro-gun, group ask its members to sit idly by and do nothing to attempt to counteract this tide of anti-gun pressure on our Legislators? This deeply mistaken approach could cost us the protection under the law that we so desperately need.

Thankfully, a few hours after this incredibly ill-thought out email was sent, the The NRA-ILA responded with this urgent email alert:

The Michigan House Judiciary Committee will be hearing important self-defense legislation on Tuesday, April 18 at 10:30 a.m. It is important that law-abiding citizens contact Chairman William VanRegenmorter and fellow committee members and ask him or her to pass HB 5143 and companion bills that are part of the Castle Doctrine package.

The "Castle Doctrine" legislation that has already passed in Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, and South Dakota will also help the citizens of Michigan by clarifying the rights and duties of self-defense and the defense of others within ones' home and/or occupied vehicle.

Please contact the House Judiciary Committee as soon as possible!

Your voice needs to be heard by this committee!

Contact information for the House Judiciary Committee members can be found below:

William VanRegenmorter (R-74), Committee Chair: (517) 373-8900;
Email: wmvanreg@house.mi.gov
Tonya Schuitmaker (R-80), Majority Vice-Chair: (517) 373-0839;
Email: tonyaschuitmaker@house.mi.gov
Alexander Lipsey (D-60), Minority Vice-Chair: (517) 373-1785;
Email: alexanderlipsey@house.mi.gov
Stephen Adamini (D-109): (517) 373-0498;
Email: stephenadamini@house.mi.gov
Steve Bieda (D-25): (517) 373-1772;
Email: stevebieda@house.mi.gov
Paul Condino (D-35): (517) 373-1788;
Email: paulcondino@house.mi.gov
Kevin Elsenheimer (R-105): (517) 373-0829;
Email: kevinelsenheimer@house.mi.gov
Rick Jones (R-71): (517) 373-0853;
Email: rickjones@house.mi.gov
David Law (R-39): (517) 373-1799;
Email: davidlaw@house.mi.gov
Bill McConico (D-5): (517) 373-0144;
Email: repbillmcconico@house.mi.gov
Gary Newell (R-87): (517) 373-0842;
Email: repgarynewell@house.mi.gov
Mike Nofs (R-62): (517) 373-0555;
Email: mikenofs@house.mi.gov
Tory Rocca (R-30): (517) 373-7768;
Email: toryrocca@house.mi.gov
Virgil Smith (D-7): (517) 373-0589;
Email: virgilsmith@house.mi.gov
John Stakoe (R-44): (517) 373-2616;
Email: johnstakoe@house.mi.gov

Castle Doctrine in Michigan....

A Man’s Home is His Castle – or so the Courts in Michigan have said thus far – but the Courts’ views change with the political tide and even the cases that have reinforced Castle Doctrine in Michigan have severely limited the scope and definition of what man’s castle entails.

Michigan residents have no “duty to retreat” in their own home, and the Courts tell us, anything attached to that home – any attached curtilage. However, anything not attached is no longer considered “home,” despite other Court rulings that would appear to support the concept, for instance, of a motor vehicle in which one is traveling, or an unattached garage adjacent to the home, as being part of one’s home (curtilage). Other Courts have ruled, in Fourth Amendment cases, for instance, that both of the above instances do constitute “home” for the purposes of the Court. Thus, the Court is at odds as to what is and is not home, and it is this circumstance that HB 5143 would correct. Codification is the only sure method to guarantee the right to defend one’s self against arrest if one must use an armed defense in a car jacking, for instance.

Similarly, at this point in our history, someone who does defend him or herself in any of the circumstances above, even if held to be completely justified in the use of deadly force, and within the boundaries of his or her own home, can still face ruination in the form of lawsuits from the individual who caused the situation, or from his or her family.

House Bill 5143 would end all of that and protect each and every law abiding citizen of our great State, who is justified in the use of deadly force when he or she reasonably believes that deadly force is necessitated to prevent the commission of a forcible felony. No one should have to retreat if he or she is in a place where he or she has a right to be – in her own car, in her own garage, on her own porch. No reasonable individual would ever “look for trouble,” but when trouble comes to find us, as law abiding citizens, in places like our homes, cars, garages or back yards, we should not have to leave it to the vagaries of the Court system to decide if we ran far enough, fast enough, or tried hard enough, to escape a situation.

House Bill 5143 would also afford financial protection to those who have been found to justifiably use deadly force to protect self or loved ones as defined in the law. HB 5143 would protect law abiding citizens from being prosecuted under criminal law and from any civil action for the use of force as defined under the law. Effectively, what the law would do is forbid the ruination of an individual who has had to use force against a felon in the commission of a crime and has sought only to employ what is that most basic human right – self defense.

I cannot urge you strongly enough to support Castle Doctrine in Michigan and lend your strength and commitment to law abiding citizens and their right to be safe in both home and travel.

SAFR says:

Dear SAFR Member:

Michigan House Bill 5143 goes before committee Tuesday or Wednesday of next week and is expected to be voted by the following week.

The Brady Campaign has sent over 400 letters to legislators telling them this bill is bad for Michigan. They need to hear from you that this is good legislation. It has broad, bi-partisan support and can be sitting on the Governor’s desk if we let them know how important it is.

Please WRITE LETTERS. Phone calls are not that helpful because they can’t be carried to committee hearings. Emails will work, but the best thing is to hand write a letter. These cannot be deleted like email can. Either mail the letters or fax them, but get them out NOW so they reach in time. Write to both your Representative and Senator.

To write to the House:

Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514

Find your Representative!

To write to the Senate:
Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536

Find your Senator!

Please forward this information on to as many people as you can, as we need to get a much more powerful response than the Brady Campaign did.

Do it now - SAFR can help protect your rights - but only your voice can really make a difference.

Good and Bad Training...

I'm a teacher. I've got three formal degrees, several training certificates that apply to teaching in the schools and seven more that apply to teaching firearms safety. By now, I have probably spent the calendar equivalent of 23 years in some kind of schooling or another. Believe me, I have seen good training, bad training, indifferent training and every stripe in between.

This past weekend, I saw some of the best training I have ever been privileged to experience by a team of instructors who know what quality training means.

Thursday through Sunday, I attended Training Counselor classes offered by the National Rifle Association's training department and an excellent team of Master and Senior Training Counselors. A "train the trainer" type session that lasted four days and was as well done as anything I've ever gone through for training.

I think my proudest moment was hearing that these instructors would feel confident sending family or friends to me to take a class. I will always do my best to live up to that trust.

Kudos to the NRA, to Roy Mullens of Ohio, and to the rest of the team joining us in Ohio to ensure quality training. My thanks to the NRA, its 4 million-plus members and the proud commitment to freedom, safety and education that is a driving force for all we do.

America's 1st Freedom. It's not just a magazine, folks - it's a way of life.

Twain - and the Governator

I've talked about my enjoyment of Twain's writings before - his obvious love of his wife was touching and his political, romantic and satirical writings precisely on target. He had a brevity of wit that I cannot help but admire and I wish I had the ability to produce pithy one-liners at anywhere near the same level as he.

For instance....

It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.

So true. There are many who will step up to the plate when it comes to the possibility of taking a knock in the head but when it comes to standing for what one believes in, we are sadly lacking. Moral courage is difficult for so many. I teach high school, and I find the lack of moral courage to be prevalent even in the smallest matters. Some of my children would rather face almost any punishment than face doing what is right.

Unfortunately, it doesn't get better with age. There are so many examples of lack of moral courage that I cannot really begin to address them. Here is a for instance, though.

Governor Schwarzenegger knows how he came to this country - legally, following the law, working his way through the system, doing the right thing and eventually, becoming a citizen of this great country. He has even risen to public office in California, the most populous state in the Union, where Hispanics make up one-third of the population.

Now, I understand responding to your constituents - certainly, he should do that. However, to pander to them is another story altogether, and to simply not stand for what is morally right is something I really didn't expect from the Governor.

Today, in the Wall Street Journal, the Governor says, "Before 9/11, we gambled that everyone entering our country had good intentions." Now this is a very true statement - and the sentiments that follow are also true - that we can no longer afford to do so, that it effects our safety to do so, that we need stronger borders and that this will mean more agents, etc.

However.

He rejects punishing law breakers. He rejects the idea that those who are in our country illegally should be deported. He rejects this and he rejects that. He believes we should develop a temporary worker program to allow American businesses to hire foreign workers for jobs "American workers will not do" - never mind that it's been shown over and over again that American workers will do the jobs, but that some unethical employers prefer undocumented workers since they do not require taxes be paid, matching social security payments, or even basic safety compliance in hiring. He believes we should be sending money to other countries to bolster their economies so that people in those countries will want to stay home rather than come here.

I'm going to indulge in a colloquialism. "Duh...." It hasn't worked in the last century - why would we expect to think it would work now? And what about the rather stark evidence to the contrary as exhibited in the attacks on our own soil by those we have fed and clothed in the past?

Here's another Twain quote which I have found to be terribly true:

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.

I have no wish to see our country bitten again - the past has shown us what a mauling illegal immigrants can inflict upon our country, its citizens and their safety and our economy. It is time to do the right thing and enforce the law - and strengthen it if that's what it takes to make our country strong.

It is most certainly not time to pander to 12 million illegal immigrants who think the law should not apply to them.

Time for the Governator to adhere to another Twain truism.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."