Find some of our former writers at The Underground

Just a note to anyone checking this blog: Former Edge Editor & Publisher Zach Becker founded a new independent student newspaper at Missouri State University where he is attending graduate school. The Underground can be found online at www.msu-underground.com. Becker, as well as a few other former writers from The Edge, are contributing online content.

Amazing Science

C.E. "Bud" Brann

Staff Writer

cebrann@ruraltel.net

Have you thought about the incredible feats performed by scientists and engineers? When we hear about landing a space probe on another planet we kind of say, "Ho hum, big deal."

If we think about the complexities of such a feat in everyday terms we become astounded.

Suppose you were a baseball pitcher with an amazing throwing arm, able to hurl a baseball for fifty miles. Suppose you took a microscopic baseball and went to the state fair and took a ride on the tilt a whirl. Further suppose a friend just happens to be in a town 50 miles away and just happens to also be riding a tilt a whirl at the same time as you. Now somehow, (don’t ask me how) you can see that a bee has landed on your friend and is about to sting him. Your tilt a whirl is going up and down and spinning rapidly as is the tilt a whirl your friend is riding. You hurl your microscopic baseball 50 miles and manage to knock the stinger right off the Bee.

It’s too unbelievable to even consider such a silly notion you are probably thinking, but in essence space scientists have been doing just such difficult feats for years.

Every time a space probe lands on another planet, like Mars, the feat accomplished is as difficult as the baseball pitch, only worse. We have become pretty blasé about such events, but think about it. The distance from the Earth to Mars isn’t constant, varying from 36 million to 250 million miles. So to make the baseball feat more realistically, your friend would not be just 50 miles away but his distance would vary from 50 to around 347 miles as your hurl your pitch.

The Earth is rotating on its axis once every 24 hours, Mars every 24 ½ hours. Both planets traveling around the sun in an elliptic orbital, both are not just rotating but also bouncing up and down. To top it off the entire solar system is whirling like that tilt a whirl. Finally every planet, the Sun, and anything and everything else in space have gravity which affects everything else in space.

Actually, my tilt a whirl example left out another problem which scientists face. In order to make the “bee” a more realistic scenario, you and your friend could not be riding tilt a whirls at the same time. Your friend would have to ride his years after you hurled your microscopic baseball. It takes years for a space shot to reach Mars from Earth.

Yet that Mars probes will land in a precise spot at the north pole of Mars just at the selected time for Mars spring thaw. And almost equally unbelievable is, that if Phoenix performs as well as the two previous probes, four years later it will still be operating having endured temperatures which range from minus 30 to minus 200 degrees F.

Computers made such incredible feats possible. (Of course a lot of other scientific breakthroughs were also required.)

To old timers (that would be me), even those like me who have degrees in science, such advances in science boggle the mind. When I was in college we did our math with slide rules. I’ll bet there are people out there who have no idea what a slide rule is. Through seven years of chemistry and physics in both undergraduate and graduate work I used a slide rule. It wasn’t until a few years later while working on an MBA that I first had the opportunity to use, even to see, a computer. That was at the University of Chicago and that computer filled a good sized room. To say I got to use it is even a bit of an exaggeration for I wasn’t allowed to touch it. I had to write my program, put it on key punch cards, get in a long line and eventually, after a long wait, hand it to a computer operator to actually run it. The small desk top computer I am writing this on is probably at least 1000 times more powerful than that room sized computer at the U of C.

Incidentally, getting back to space, the day I ran my very first computer program was the same day man first set foot on the moon. (My professor showed up and asked why on earth we weren’t all gathered around a TV watching such an incredible event. I guess he forgot the tremendous computer work load he had given us.)

Common sense solutions to the oil crisis

Zach Becker
Editor
edgenewspaper@gmail.com

$4.00 a gallon. And going up and up and up....

Our country is in a vice grip at the hands of the oil industry, vulnerable to its every whim, the life of our economy squirming about, trying to stay afloat, choking ourselves out, yet unable to break free. Tighter and tighter it turns. Yet we cannot escape, for the very chains that bind us are also the rungs from which we have built this great nation. Have we weaved our own noose? Is there a way out?

Judging by the action (or inaction) of our friends in Washington D.C., the answer would appear to be no. Apparently, many in Washington would rather watch as the nation's economy craters than take any real action.

Their solution? "Drive less and use less fuel." If only it were so simple. Oil drives every sector of our economy. While encouraging Americans to cut out unnecessary driving and use public transportation is a good step, it is certainly no solution to this petrol problem we have.

Here is a solution: DRILL FOR MORE OIL. Open the spigots in Alaska. Heat up that oil-rich shale. Scour our coastal waters.

Black gold. Texas Tea. That's what we need. Estimates show we have more than enough oil reserves right here in America for years to come, but it's all off limits due to a bunch of over-the-hill tree huggers on Capital Hill.

I'm not saying we should go out destroy a coral reef or kill polar bears in our search for oil. However, with reasonable environmental restrictions in place, we should start digging like crazy until we get these oil prices under control.

If things continue as is, we may be headed for another great depression. If that happens, and we can't afford to drive to work and we can't afford to feed our children, are we really going to thank our legislators for selling us out in order to save the Alaskan wilderness?

Now, if we were to get the oil prices under control, we certainly couldn't go back to our old ways. We need to take big steps to make sure this never happens again. Increase fuel-efficiency standards. Diversify our energy portfolio (with clean energy like wind, solar and nuclear power). And most of all, search for new fuels to power our economy.

The answer is right there... DIG FOR MORE OIL. We were shortsighted before, but this simple solution could buy us the time we need to diversify our energy use and free us from the vice grip in which we're currently ensnared.

This and That

C.E. "Bud" Brann

Staff Writer

cebrann@ruraltel.net

Another sure sign of old age

Thirty or forty years ago had I been out of contact with my friends for a few days little would have been thought about it. They would assume I had gone out of town for a few days, or was involved in some activity which would have kept me to busy to make contact. Today, they assume I must be dead or dying.

My computer was down for several days last week. Emails sent to me elicited no response from me. First the normal e-mails were sent. They were quickly followed by e-mails saying “Bud, are you there, are you okay?" Next were friends contacting each other. “Have you heard from Bud?" “Is there something wrong with him?" Finally, my phone rang. (You remember phones, the old fashioned way to communicate?) When I answered, the first words I heard were, “Are you okay?" Yup, I was as okay as most people my age and condition, but my computer wasn’t.

Thoughts on the 2^nd Amendment decision.

Recently I wrote an article on the 2^nd amendment, and now the Supreme Court has ruled on the issue with a decision favorable to American freedom. It should have been, but wasn’t, a surprise the decision wasn’t unanimous, winning on a five to four majority. Apparently four of the Justices have never read the words of the founding fathers on the subject. This once again proves that some Supreme Court judges are more interested in activism than law.

Nor was it any sort of surprise that those most vociferously opposed to the decision, such as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Chicago Mayor Richard M, Daley and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg all have squads of armed body guards to protect them. Hey, they need protecting, you don’t.

Neither was it a surprise that The District of Colombia, whose draconian gun laws were the cause of the courts decision has the most repressive anti gun laws in the nation and one of the highest murder rates. (In D.C., it is, or was, illegal to take a gun from one room to another in your own home.) Nor was it a surprise that the police chief of D.C. has essentially said “screw” the Supreme Court, we will do what we please or that the above mentioned mayors have already set about actions to get around the Supreme Court ruling. The issue isn’t over. Already both sides are preparing to take action, one side to stifle your constitutional right and the other side to defend it.

Oddly, those mayors and other anti gun folks have never bothered to check the facts, most notably that those with a concealed handgun license commit but a small fraction of the crimes of the citizens in general.

The Kansas violent crime rate is 389.4 per 100,000 population or 0.389 percent. For those 14,000 Kansans who hold concealed carry licenses, there have been only 2 licenses suspended for violent behavior, 1 for assault and 1 for spousal abuse, a rate of 0.014 pecent per 100,000, if I did the math correctly. So much for the “blood in the streets” prediction of the “Brady Bunch” of anti gun people.

Modern medicine

On a highly personal noteb my uncle who turned 93 last December had open heart surgery Tuesday and is doing very well. It wasn’t very long ago that someone that age would have just been expected to lie down and die. Such surgery would not even have been contemplated at that age.

The Internet

One of the newspapers for which I write has dropped the printed version totally to go strictly “on-line.” I initially questioned the wisdom of that decision until “The Edge” publisher, Zach Becker, informed me the online version was already getting more “hits” per week than the printed version reached in a month and it’s a lot cheaper.

Two points of which I was vaguely aware but hadn’t given much thought was the internet's ability to search topics and provide feed back. For example, hundreds, probably thousands of organizations and groups routinely search for topics of special interest to them. They search using key words and phrases. Nothing surprising about that, of course, as we all do that. But, when it comes to online newspapers, this assures much broader readership. For example, my above mentioned article on the 2^nd Amendment was automatically “found” by all sorts of groups both for and against gun control. I found my article mentioned and linked to several pro gun forums including the Kansas and Michigan pro gun forums and at least one such national forum. Thus, in addition to the hundreds of “hits” on my article through connecting to “The Edge” directly, it received thousands of “hits” via other internet sources.

In addition to the benefit such groups have through instant searching of topics of interest; the feedback to the newspaper is far more enlightening. In the printed version, about the only feedback comes from letters to the editor, or occasionally an e-mail to the writer if such is included with an article. An online service available to publications provides information on daily “hits” per article, where the hit originated, by country, state and town and who originated the hit. In the printed version, unless a letter to the editor mentions a specific article you don’t know which articles are most widely read. On the internet, you know by seeing which article got the most hits.

Independence Day, the Fourth of July

I write this July 3d. I’m curious as to how you, your family and friends, and your community celebrate the 4^th. Here in Hays, there is a long tradition which we enjoy every year. At old Fort Hays, free hot dogs, chips, and soft drinks are served to all. During the meal there is entertainment, usually just one person performing. After serving the food, the local band sets up and plays for about an hour, often emphasizing John Phillips Sousa’s stirring marches with a patriotic theme. In the evening, there is a large fireworks display. You may have to park a mile or two away if you want to get close, although we discovered a relatively deserted road where the fireworks are clearly visible. Many people take the occasion to tour the old Fort buildings, an annual visit.

There is also a celebration called Wild West Fest, which has a carnival and music, often with very well known bands. The last one I saw was Charlie Daniels and what a 4^th of July performance he provided. It was fantastic.

Before I moved to Hays, the day was usually committed to a family picnic and evening fireworks and of course shooting off our own fireworks. So, how will/did you spend the holiday?

I realize that as you read this, it will be well after the 4^th of July. But I suggest that should not be the only day on which we reflect on the founding of our nation, and the great founding fathers that set in motion the events which led to some of the most magnificent words ever set to paper, as well as the founding of the United States.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

A bit of cloth

C.E. "Bud" Brann

Staff Writer

cebrann@ruraltel.net

People who support burning the American flag say it’s no big deal; it is just a “bit of cloth”. If it is just “a bit of cloth”, what is the point of burning it? You might just as well burn your old underpants, mightn’t you?

Of course it’s more than a bit of cloth. It’s a symbol. If it were not a symbol, not more than a bit of cloth, no one would be interested in burning it.

It is a symbol of victory, and a symbol of defeat. When Marines faced a hail of bullets to raise that “bit of cloth” on Mt. Suribachi in Iwo Jima, it told the world of pride, bravery, effort, loss, blood, sweat, and tears…… and it told of victory.

When it was lowered in Viet Nam, it told the world of defeat and shame. The first act at a new embassy is to raise that “bit of cloth” and the last act when leaving an embassy is to lower that “bit of cloth.”

When America’s gold medal Olympic athletes wrap that bit of cloth around their shoulders as they take a victory lap, or when they stand at attention on the podium as their flag is raised, often with tears of pride in their eyes, it is not just a bit of cloth. It is a symbol of their pride in their country and in their achievement, just as are the flags of gold medal winners from every other country.

It is that bit of cloth which can cause thousands of noisy people at a football game, baseball game, or any other sporting event to suddenly become quiet, stand on their feet, and place their hand over their heart. I doubt if raising your old underwear on a stick would elicit that response. (Well I suppose if it were Pam Anderson’s under pants it might get some men to react that way.)

America is not a perfect country. It never has been and never will be. But millions of people from all over the world have come to the United States because they see that “bit of cloth” as a symbol for their hopes and desires, for a better future for themselves and for their children..

A “bit of cloth? No way!

The Statue of Liberty is not a “bit of metal”. It is a symbol, a symbol of hope for all “the poor and huddled masses yearning to be free.”

The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are not just “bits of paper.” A marriage license, a diploma, a deed for your home are not just bits of paper. They are symbols, symbols which have meaning. Symbols of love, achievement, ownership. Symbols of hard work, sacrifice, yearning, hope, and pride.

The tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Viet Nam wall, and for that matter the Blarney Stone, are not just “bits of stone”. They too are symbols. Symbols of love and respect; or symbols of loss, symbols of gain, and symbols of hope.

Standing by the Viet Nam wall, one sees many tears. The only reason your old underpants might bring a tear to the eye could be because of the smell.

Having said all that, you might assume I am a super patriot who supports an amendment to the constitution to prevent burning of the flag. I’m not and I do not. Just as we raise and wave the flag to indicate our pride, those who disagree with the actions of the government have the right, or should have the right, to use that same symbol as an example of their shame, their disagreement with government actions. I have yet to see a flag burner with whom I agreed, but one of the symbols for which our flag stands is freedom of speech and freedom of expression. They have the right to burn the flag, just as I have the right to tell them how I feel about their silly and childish means of protest. I would no more take that right from them, than I would allow them to take away my right to disagree with them.

Should President Bush be arrested for desecrating the flag by autographing it, as he has done? Should athletes, and entertainers, and Mr. and Mrs. American be arrested for wearing clothing representing our flag? Should the flag be painted on the side of race cars?

More importantly, doesn’t our government have more important things to do than interfere with people’s right of expression?

We are up to our ears in debt and sinking deeper by the hour. We are hated by much of the world. Our health care is a shambles; our old folks are being ill cared for. (Particularly a concern of mine as I am one.) We are in a war with Islamic terrorists. We appear to be mired in a war in Iraqi and possibly Afghanistan with no end in sight. We are threatened by Iran and North Korea.

Doesn’t our government have more important things to do then interfere with people’s right to expression, to interfere with the happiness of gay people, to thrust their personal religious belief on everyone else?

There was a time when it was conservatives who believed in rugged individualism, individual rights and freedoms and small government. It was, conservatives said, liberals who supported big government, group think, and interference with the many, in favor of the few. Now, in those respects there isn’t a nickels worth of difference between right and left. Both do the same, just from opposite sides of the coin.

We need to once again develop common goals, to learn to cooperate, not “out shout” each other, and see who can do the best job of interfering with others rights, just because we disapprove of them.

Before we can do this, we need to do something to keep our politicians from, every election year, trotting out old useless issues which do nothing but inflame passions. We need to demand that election rhetoric stick to important issues. Frankly I am sick of the Republicans trotting out the abortion issue every election and the Democrats trotting out racism every election. A pox on both your houses. Tell us how to defeat Islamic terrorism, tell us how to solve our health care crisis, the Social Security crisis. Tell us what you will do to solve the budget deficit. Simply griping that the other side is doing it all wrong doesn’t help. Tell us what you will do, not what the other guys is doing wrong.

People have the right to burn the American flag. We might wish they were wrapped in it at the time. Then maybe, just maybe, it would be your responsibility, as well as your right, to piss on them to put out the fire.

Now let’s get on with the business of the country.