Kountze, Texas (Hardin County). A group of high school cheerleaders painted Bible verses on large paper "run-through" banners that the high school football team runs through at the beginning of every football game.
The Kountze school district prohibited use of the banners, but a state district court judge has ruled they may continue this practice for the rest of the season. Gov. Rick Perry
and Attorney General Greg Abbott came to the cheerleaders’ defense.
They called the efforts by the Kountze school district to prohibit the
banners “a great insult” that was out of step with a state law requiring
districts to treat student expression of religious views in the same
manner that secular views are treated.
According to the New York Times, the case has "galvanized" Christians in East Texas and has upset some of the usual suspects such as the Anti-Defamation League.
My question: are there any genuine Christians in East Texas? Let me get this straight: young cheerleaders mark up large paper banners with Bible verses, so that football players will run through them and destroy them? This is supposed to demonstrate religious fervor and devotion? Why not encase a bible in plastic and throw it around the field in a game of ultimate frisbee?
Has anyone caught up in this madness looked up the word "sacrilege?"
I have often wondered, in a similar fashion, about taking our symbols of worldly wealth or "mammon" and imprinting on those symbols the phrase "in God we trust." Is this intentional or merely unintentional mockery of God?
What has become of our sense of the sacred?
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
Voting: Second Day
Pamlico County One-Stop early voting turnout fell off a bit today - to 328.
That is, five fewer voters turned out today than yesterday.
Total in-person votes to date: 661. Early voting days left: 15.
Total Absentee By Mail Votes reviewed by Board of Elections: 110
Total Ballots cast to date: 771+ (more absentee by mail votes to be reviewed 10/23)
Total Registered Voters: 9,361
2008 Registered Voters: 9,556
2008 Ballots Cast: 6,848
2008 Voter Turnout: 71.66%
Bottom Line: After two days, Pamlico County Voters have already cast 11.26% of ballots cast in 2008 and there are 15 more days of early voting, plus election day on November 6. We could see a new record.
That is, five fewer voters turned out today than yesterday.
Total in-person votes to date: 661. Early voting days left: 15.
Total Absentee By Mail Votes reviewed by Board of Elections: 110
Total Ballots cast to date: 771+ (more absentee by mail votes to be reviewed 10/23)
Total Registered Voters: 9,361
2008 Registered Voters: 9,556
2008 Ballots Cast: 6,848
2008 Voter Turnout: 71.66%
Bottom Line: After two days, Pamlico County Voters have already cast 11.26% of ballots cast in 2008 and there are 15 more days of early voting, plus election day on November 6. We could see a new record.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Voting: First Day
Pamlico County had a good turnout for the first day of early (one-stop) voting. Today's turnout was 333 voters. That's almost 100 more voters than turned out on the first day of one-stop in 2008.
Good job.
Good job.
Seventy Years Ago: South Pacific Area
October 18, 1942, Vice Admiral Robert Lee. Ghormley, Commander, South Pacific Area, was replaced by Vice Admiral William F. Halsey.
Ghormley had been in charge of the Navy/Marine Corps operation to invade Guadalcanal in early August, commanding forces, eventually including Army units, from his headquarters at Noumea. US Navy losses had been especially heavy.
The decision was made by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Fleet. He was concerned about Ghormley's pessimism and sought to replace him with a more aggressive and dynamic leader.
Halsey was such a man.
Ghormley had been in charge of the Navy/Marine Corps operation to invade Guadalcanal in early August, commanding forces, eventually including Army units, from his headquarters at Noumea. US Navy losses had been especially heavy.
The decision was made by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Fleet. He was concerned about Ghormley's pessimism and sought to replace him with a more aggressive and dynamic leader.
Halsey was such a man.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Election 2012: One-Stop
I hope everyone in Pamlico County knows by now that in-person early voting starts tomorrow.
Citizens desiring to vote can appear at the Board of Elections office at Pamlico County Courthouse any time between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm tomorrow and every weekday between now and November 3. The one-stop site will also be open 9:00 pm to 5:00 pm Saturday, October 20 and 29, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Sunday October 21 and October 28, and the final day of One-Stop from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Saturday, November 3.
Voters who have not yet registered can both register and vote at One-Stop.
Election day is Tuesday, November 6. Polls open at 6:30 and remain open until 7:30 pm.
To date, the Board of Elections has received 110 absentee votes by mail. Those votes will be counted on election day, before the in-person votes are counted.
Vote! Brave Americans gave their lives so you can.
Citizens desiring to vote can appear at the Board of Elections office at Pamlico County Courthouse any time between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm tomorrow and every weekday between now and November 3. The one-stop site will also be open 9:00 pm to 5:00 pm Saturday, October 20 and 29, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Sunday October 21 and October 28, and the final day of One-Stop from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm Saturday, November 3.
Voters who have not yet registered can both register and vote at One-Stop.
Election day is Tuesday, November 6. Polls open at 6:30 and remain open until 7:30 pm.
To date, the Board of Elections has received 110 absentee votes by mail. Those votes will be counted on election day, before the in-person votes are counted.
Vote! Brave Americans gave their lives so you can.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
On Violence
Monday, October 15, 2012
We Can't Afford (Fill In The Blank)
I have previously revealed my annoyance at the idea that we can't afford doing what needs to be done because of the deficit. This is the "Oh, we're too poor" complaint. My usual response would be "balderdash!" I may change my response to "malarkey!" That's a good word, too.
I just came across a really well done blog that examines many issues similar to the ones that I address in this blog. It's always reassuring, even if it is true that the other author does it better than I do.
Here's a link to an essay entitled "Dam The Economists." John, the author, points to the Hoover Dam, built at the height of the Great Depression and summarizes the continuing economic benefits to the country.
His point is similar to the one I make here , where I point out that the Great Depression was also an era of Grand Undertakings.
I just came across a really well done blog that examines many issues similar to the ones that I address in this blog. It's always reassuring, even if it is true that the other author does it better than I do.
Here's a link to an essay entitled "Dam The Economists." John, the author, points to the Hoover Dam, built at the height of the Great Depression and summarizes the continuing economic benefits to the country.
His point is similar to the one I make here , where I point out that the Great Depression was also an era of Grand Undertakings.
More On Collision
Now we know a bit more about the collision between USS San Jacinto, an Aegis Cruiser and the nuclear submarine USS Montpelier. Montpelier came to periscope depth about 200 yards or less directly ahead of San Jacinto.
At that point, collision was inevitable. The Navy's report disclosed nothing about the damage to Montpelier, but revealed that San Jacinto's sonar dome was "completely depressurized."
The ships had been operating together in an antisubmarine exercise in the Atlantic. What this incident tells me is that both ships are extraordinarily quiet.
Typically, investigations of such collisions put the onus on the submarine to be sure there is no surface ship in the vicinity before coming to periscope depth or surfacing. But what if the surface ship is extremely quiet? Was San Jacinto operating too slowly to be detected? Were the two vessels communicating? Why did San Jacinto not detect the submarine when it was less than a mile away? Lots of questions.
As for the sonar dome, that will be an expensive repair. One of the challenges the Navy faced with the large multi-mode sonar installations beginning with the AN/SQS-26 series of sonars was that the self-noise of water rushing past the dome reduced the sonar's sensitivity. The problem was the steel "window" surrounding the transducer. In 1976 my ship, USS Patterson, received one of the first inflatable rubber sonar domes. This was not a simple modification.
I expect repairs to San Jacinto will prove to be expensive and time consuming.
At that point, collision was inevitable. The Navy's report disclosed nothing about the damage to Montpelier, but revealed that San Jacinto's sonar dome was "completely depressurized."
The ships had been operating together in an antisubmarine exercise in the Atlantic. What this incident tells me is that both ships are extraordinarily quiet.
Typically, investigations of such collisions put the onus on the submarine to be sure there is no surface ship in the vicinity before coming to periscope depth or surfacing. But what if the surface ship is extremely quiet? Was San Jacinto operating too slowly to be detected? Were the two vessels communicating? Why did San Jacinto not detect the submarine when it was less than a mile away? Lots of questions.
As for the sonar dome, that will be an expensive repair. One of the challenges the Navy faced with the large multi-mode sonar installations beginning with the AN/SQS-26 series of sonars was that the self-noise of water rushing past the dome reduced the sonar's sensitivity. The problem was the steel "window" surrounding the transducer. In 1976 my ship, USS Patterson, received one of the first inflatable rubber sonar domes. This was not a simple modification.
I expect repairs to San Jacinto will prove to be expensive and time consuming.
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