Heritage Quote

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

-- Thomas Paine (The American Crisis, No. 1, 19 December 1776)

Vacating the homestead

I'm off on an adventure with my wonderful wife!

I'm not sure I will be blogging during this time, but may have the opportunity.

I will return around 1 July.

UPDATE: We have returned home in one piece. I will resume blogging shortly.

Heritage Quote

"The necessity of procuring good Intelligence is apparent & need not be further urged--All that remains for me to add is, that you keep the whole matter as secret as possible, For upon Secrecy, Success depends in Most Enterprizes of the kind, and for want of it, they are generally defeated, however well planned & promising a favorable issue.'

-- George Washington, commander-In-Chief of the Continental Army, Summer 1777

Heritage Quote

"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."

-- James Madison (Federalist No. 46, 1 February 1788)

Disadvantage: ethanol fuel

It has been discussed around the blogosphere that "flex fuel", or fuel that is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, yields less energy than pure gasoline. In fact, it will reduce a car's gas mileage considerably.

My father-in-law sat down, did the math, and sent me an email with his analysis:

For years countries lacking petroleum resources have used ethyl alcohol-blended with gasoline for fuel. Now, in an effort to reduce the United States dependence on imported oil the government is subsidizing the development and production of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) for motor fuel. The goal is to develop "E-85"; a fuel blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Pumps at many gasoline stations already post a notice that the fuel may contain up to 10% ethanol, in part to reduce emissions. So what are the characteristics of ethanol? What costs are involved?

Chemistry text books/handbooks explain that dilute ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol) is produced by fermentation and the proportion of alcohol is increased by fractional distillation over some dehydrating agent to remove the water, an expensive process. It is an excellent solvent, and used in many products. Because it burns readily it is considered a valuable liquid fuel, but some changes are needed to an internal combustion engine for its use.

Text books on internal combustion engines note that ethanol has some desirable characteristics. It will maintain its composition under much higher compression than gasoline; up to 200 p.s.i. Also, no carbon is found in engines using a fuel containing over 35% ethanol. A problem exists when ethanol and gasoline are blended together because the ethanol will absorb water from the atmosphere and separate from the gasoline. Recently problems have been reported in sports news where "E-10" fuel stored in cans vented to the atmosphere for several weeks have caused damage to outboard motors when used later. The larger detriment to ethanol is that it contains oxygen in its chemical makeup which reduces the amount of heat energy per pound which is released during burning.

The heating value (energy) of ethanol is 11,600 BTU per pound with specific weight of 48.98 pounds per cubic foot, or 6.55 pounds per gallon. Multiplying we get a heating value of 75,980 BTU per gallon.

Gasoline has a heating value of 18,800 BTU per pound with specific weight of 47.24 pounds per cubic foot, or 6.32 pounds per gallon. Similarly gasoline has 118, 816 BTU per gallon.

Blending 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline:

0.85 X 75,980 = 64,583BTU

0.15 X 118,816 = 17,822BTU

"E-85" = 82,405BTU/gal.

"E-85" then has slightly less than 70% (82,405/118,816 =0.693) the heating value (energy) of gasoline. Thus a decrease in the miles per gallon of cars with the engine modified to use the blended fuel can be expected. Developing large scale production of ethanol for automotive fuel is an option for reducing the United States dependence on foreign oil, but at a broad ranging significant cost beyond just the cost of fuel.

In other words, if your flex fuel vehicle gets 25 mpg now, it will only be getting about 18 mpg with E-85.

Heritage Quote

"The citizens of America have too much discernment to be argued into anarchy, and I am much mistaken if experience has not wrought a deep and solemn conviction in the public mind that greater energy of government is essential to the welfare and prosperity of the community."

-- Alexander Hamilton (Federalist No. 26)

Heritage Quote

"Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they want a war let it begin here."

-- Captain John Parker (commander of the militiamen at Lexington, Massachusetts, on siting British Troops (attributed), 19 April 1775)

Heritage Quote

"One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them."

-- Thomas Jefferson (letter to George Washington, 19 June 1796)

Heritage Quote

"Patriotism is as much a virtue as justice, and is as necessary for the support of societies as natural affection is for the support of families."

-- Benjamin Rush, 1773 - letter to His Fellow Contrymen: On Patriotism

Heritage Quote

"And as to the Cares, they are chiefly what attend the bringing up of Children; and I would ask any Man who has experienced it, if they are not the most delightful Cares in the World; and if from that Particular alone, he does not find the Bliss of a double State much greater, instead of being less than he expected."

-- Benjamin Franklin, Reply to a Piece of Advice

Happy Father's Day

Father’s Day has been observed for a century, and its inspiration, Mother’s Day, has been celebrated in one form or another since the 16th century. But perhaps these should be combined into a “Children’s Day,” because as any devoted parent can attest, there is no greater responsibility or privilege than parenting, and no greater reward than the blessing of children.

The good news is that there is a resurgence of men who are honoring their wives and children as responsible husbands and fathers. Unfortunately, many men still abdicate their responsibility as fathers.

Marriage is the foundation for the family, which in turn, serves as the foundation for society. In 295 BC, Mencius wrote, “The root of the kingdom is in the state. The root of the state is in the family. The root of the family is in the person of its head.”

Broken marriages lead to broken families, which lead to broken societies. The most successful fathering is rooted in a healthy marriage. Thus, to be good fathers, we must first be good husbands.

Marital infidelity and the consequences for children were a concern for our Founders: John Adams wrote in his diary on 2 June 1778, “The foundation of national morality must be laid in private families... How is it possible that Children can have any just Sense of the sacred Obligations of Morality or Religion if, from their earliest Infancy, they learn their Mothers live in habitual Infidelity to their fathers, and their fathers in as constant Infidelity to their Mothers?”

One of my mentors, Dr. Jim Lee, director of Living Free ministries, writes that the Christian marriage paradigm is built on a foundation of five principles: “First, God is the creator of the marriage relationship; second, heterosexuality is God’s pattern for marriage; third, monogamy is God’s design for marriage; fourth, God’s plan for marriage is for physical and spiritual unity; and fifth, marriage was designed to be permanent.”

When this paradigm is broken, the exemplar for children is broken, and the consequences are staggering. One of the greatest affronts to the Body of Christ, then, is also the most common injury to the family of man—marital infidelity and divorce.

-- Excerpted from You can't outsource fatherhood! by Mark Alexander.

Heritage Quote

"Our flag is our national ensign, pure and simple, behold it! Listen to it! Every star has a tongue, every stripe is articulate. "

-- Robert Winthrop (1809-1894), Senator from Massachusetts

Face the Flag

Face the Flag of stars and bars,
Of red and white and blue,
A Flag that guarantees the rights
For men like me and you.

Face the Flag, son! Read what's written there,
The history, the progress and the heritage we share.
Our Flag reflects the past, son, but stands for so much more,
And in this Age of Aquarius, it still flies in the fore.

It leads the forward movement, shared by all mankind,
To learn...to love...to live with peace of mind;
To learn the mysteries of space, as well as those of earth;
To love each man for what he is, regardless of his birth;
To live without the fear of reprisal for belief;
To ease the tensions of a world that cries out for relief.

Face the Flag of stars and bars,
Of red and white and blue,
A Flag that guarantees the rights
For men like me and you.

Face the Flag, son!
Take a good long look.
What you're seeing now can't be found in a history book.
It's the present and the future, son.
It's being written now,
And you're the one to write it,
but the Flag can show you how.

Do you know what it stands for? What its makers meant?
To think...to speak...the privilege of dissent;
To think our leaders might be wrong...
to stand and tell them so.
These are the things that other men
under other flags will never know.
But responsibility...that's the cross that free men must bear,
And if you don't accept that, the freedom isn't there.

Face the Flag of stars and bars,
Of red and white and blue,
A Flag that guarantees the rights
For men like me and you.

Face the Flag, son, and face reality.
Our strengths and our freedoms are based in unity.
The flag is but a symbol, son, of the world's greatest nation,
And as long as it keeps flying, there's cause for celebration.

So do what you've got to do, but always keep in mind,
A lot of people believe in peace...
but there are the other kind.
If we want to keep these freedoms,
we may have to fight again.
God forbid, but if we do, let's always fight to win,
For the fate of a loser is futile and it's bare:
No love, no peace...just misery and despair.

Face the Flag, son...and thank God it's still there.

[From the book and album "America, Why I Love Her " by John Wayne. Words by Bill Ezell]
[Via JellyJar.com]

Long May She Wave

For more than 200 years, the American flag has been the symbol of our nation's strength and unity. It's been a source of pride and inspiration for millions of citizens. And it has been a prominent icon in our national history. Here are the highlights of its unique past.

On January 1, 1776, the Continental Army was reorganized in accordance with a Congressional resolution which placed American forces under George Washington's control. On that New Year's Day the Continental Army was laying siege to Boston which had been taken over by the British Army. Washington ordered the Grand Union flag hoisted above his base at Prospect Hill. It had 13 alternate red and white stripes and the British Union Jack in the upper left-hand corner (the canton).

In May of 1776, Betsy Ross reported that she sewed the first American flag.

On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."

Between 1777 and 1960, Congress passed several acts that changed the shape, design and arrangement of the flag and allowed for additional stars and stripes to be added to reflect the admission of each new state.

Act of January 13, 1794 - provided for 15 stripes and 15 stars after May 1795.
Act of April 4, 1818 - provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state, signed by President Monroe.
Executive Order of President Taft dated June 24, 1912 - established proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward.
Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated January 3, 1959 - provided for the arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically.
Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959 - provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.
Today the flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with 6 white. The stripes represent the original 13 colonies, the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: Red symbolizes Hardiness and Valor, White symbolizes Purity and Innocence and Blue represents Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice.

-- Patriot Post, History of the American Flag

Heritage Quote

"Nothing is more certain than that a general profligacy and corruption of manners make a people ripe for destruction. A good form of government may hold the rotten materials together for some time, but beyond a certain pitch, even the best constitution will be ineffectual, and slavery must ensue."

-- John Witherspoon, 1776 - The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men

Heritage Quote

"[A] good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous."

-- George Washington, 1790 - letter to Steptoe Washington

Heritage Quote

"No compact among men...can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable, and if I may so express myself, that no Wall of words, that no mound of parchment can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by the sapping current of corrupted morals on the other."

-- George Washington, 1789 - draft of first Inaugural Address

Heritage Quote

"It is the manners and spirit of a people which preserve a republic in vigor. A degeneracy in these is a canker which soon eats to the heart of its laws and constitution."

-- Thomas Jefferson, 1781 - Notes on Virginia Query 19

Heritage Quote

"Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptionable characters."

-- Samuel Adams, 1775 - letter to James Warren

Heritage Quote

"If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one, subject to particular exceptions."

-- James Madison, 1792 - letter to Edmund Pendleton

Sunset Storm

April 2007, Canon Powershot 450

Heritage Quote

"The legislative department is everywhere extending the sphere of its activity and drawing all power into its impetuous vortex."

-- James Madison, 1788 - Federalist No. 48

Heritage Quote

"It would reduce the whole instrument to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please. Certainly no such universal power was meant to be given them. It [the Constitution] was intended to lace them up straightly within the enumerated powers and those without which, as means, these powers could not be carried into effect."

-- Thomas Jefferson, 1791 - Opinion on a National Bank

Heritage Quote

"On every unauthoritative exercise of power by the legislature must the people rise in rebellion or their silence be construed into a surrender of that power to them? If so, how many rebellions should we have had already?"

-- Thomas Jefferson, 1782 - Notes on Virginia, Query 12

Heritage Quote

"The powers of congress must be defined, but their means must be adequate to the purposes of their constitution. It is possible there may be abuses and misapplications; still, it is better to hazard something than to hazard at all."

-- Oliver Ellsworth, 1783 - letter to Governor Trumbull

Heritage Quote

"We are not to consider ourselves, while here, as at church or school, to listen to the harangues of speculative piety; we are here to talk of the political interests committed to our charge."

-- Fisher Ames, 1789 - speech in the United States House of Representatives

Roses and Lace

EF-S 17-55mm lens, f/3.5, 1/100 s, no flash

Heritage Quote

"The Grecians and Romans were strongly possessed of the spirit of liberty but not the principle, for at the time they were determined not to be slaves themselves, they employed their power to enslave the rest of mankind."

-- Thomas Paine (The American Crisis, No. 5, 21 March 1778)

Still no recession

Even after the Fed adjusted their 2008 Q1 numbers.

The U.S. economy was stronger than first thought because of a better trade balance and stronger business spending.

Gross domestic product rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.9% annual rate January through March, the Commerce Department said in the second estimate of first-quarter GDP . . .

Don't believe those doomsayers who keep harping on the recession. We haven't seen a recession in years, and it looks like our economy is still going to grow -- despite high energy prices, the global war on terrorism, and the housing correction.

One thing that would bring our economy to a standstill, though, would be if our government started raising taxes again. Taxes have never been the way to spur economic growth. In fact, they have the exact opposite effect -- always have, too.

And you can take that to the bank.

[Via Mark Perry at Carpe Diem.]

Heritage Quote

"If a well-regulated militia be the most natural defense of a free country, it ought certainly to be under the regulation and at the disposal of that body which is constituted the guardian of the national security. If standing armies are dangerous to liberty, an efficacious power over the militia in the same body ought, as far as possible, to take away the inducement and the pretext to such unfriendly institutions. If the federal government can command the aid of the militia in those emergencies which call for the military arm in support of the civil magistrate, it can the better dispense with the employment of a different kind of force. If it cannot avail itself of the former, it will be obliged to recur to the latter. To render an army unnecessary will be a more certain method of preventing its existence than a thousand prohibitions upon paper."

-- Alexander Hamilton (Federalist No. 29, 10 January 1788)