Now Don’t Go Making Congress Mad!

And a government cover-up is better? 😐

And…the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, decided not to make public hundreds of pages of research and warnings about the use of phones by drivers — in part, officials say, because of concerns about angering Congress.

Help me out — why would that make Congress mad?

“We’re looking at a problem that could be as bad as drunk driving, and the government has covered it up,” said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety.

Here we go again. Somebody is going to tell me I can’t carry on a conversation while I’m driving. Come to think of it, I don’t talk much while I’m driving. I don’t drink much either.

The highway safety researchers estimated that cellphone use by drivers caused around 955 fatalities and 240,000 accidents over all in 2002.

That is astounding, but how do they go about estimating such things?

The research mirrors other studies about the dangers of multitasking behind the wheel. Research shows that motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers, and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content.

😯

So, just add a new dimension to DUI. Maybe something along the lines of Driving Under the Influence of Conversation.

Wait a minute — why am I wasting my time here again????!!!! 🙁

One more thing: Will the time come when we attach drunk driving stigma to distracted driving?

Read the rest of the New York Times story here: In 2003, U.S. Withheld Data Showing Cellphone Driving Risks.

Cutting Corners on Tires

Well…how else would you get them round enough to 🙄 ?

Here’s the story that provokes this post:

An Oregon State University researcher who developed a non-toxic adhesive for kitchen cabinetry says he has found a way to use wood fibers to make car tires better for the environment.

😯

Better for the environment, maybe, but will it be better for me the passenger or driver?!!

Oh. Pardon me for interrupting the story.

Microcrystalline cellulose — a product that can be made easily from almost any type of plant fibers — can partially replace silica as a reinforcing filler in the manufacture of rubber tires, says Kaichang Li, an associate professor of wood science and engineering in the OSU College of Forestry.

Li’s research suggests that using plant fibers can reduce the energy required to produce tires, lower costs, and produce tires that better resist heat buildup. That could be good news for Oregon’s timber industry, which needs new uses and products to sustain demand for the state’s timber harvest.

But how would wood-based tires perform? Early tests indicate they could have traction and strength comparable to conventional tires — and make cars more fuel efficient in hot weather.

Source: OSU researchers say wood fiber can make car tires more energy efficient, less expensive

When the rubber meets the road, will this get enough traction to get anywhere? Well, as the good old saying goes, “Knock on wood.” (If you want to drive on wood, that is.)

May a Christian Do That?

What if you weren’t a Christian?

I asked that question in my most recent devotional (Thoughts for the Week) which I posted on July 14, 2009. (I first asked it some 17 years ago when I wrote it for publication as part of the March 31, 1993, lesson in Christian Light Publication‘s youth Sunday School quarterly.)

Last week, though, I got the following responses via email: Read it all

Foreign Teachers in Russia

Mission Network News is reporting this Moscow news:

Currently, foreigners in Russia only need a visa to teach. A draft bill has been submitted, however, that claims the current policy opens doors for the spread of “extremist ideology, national and religious hatred.” All of this poses a national security threat, according to the bill.

Persuaded by the threats, the Moscow City Dumas deputies approved the creation of the bill last Tuesday which would require a work permit for foreign teachers. This can take months to acquire.

Jesus’ Family in Mexico?

So…they…

purport to be devout Evangelical Christians. All members are disciplined to abstain from narcotics themselves and care for their homes and children, La Familia says. They are also made to study a special Bible….

Then there’s this a little farther down in the Time story:

The sect also uses the Internet to spread its gospel. On one on-line forum, hundreds of supporters sing the praises of Christ and La Familia. “Victory to La Familia Michoacana, gloryfying Jesus by helping others,” writes one aficionado calling himself Fran. “Evil will only reign until Jesus stops it,” writes another calling himself the Messenger. “Nobody is saved from divine justice and they cannot imagine the pain and suffering they will go through.”

Time calls them a sect? Maybe that’s what they are, but, somehow, that seems to me to dangerously tarnish real Evangelicals.

La Familia Michoacana just is not your conventional religious group:

Their use of extreme violence against rivals and police has given La Familia a brutal reputation across Mexico. They first burst to fame in 2006 when gangsters severed the heads of five rival traffickers and rolled them onto a disco dance floor.

😯

They don’t sound like your conventional Mexican drug cartel either

HT: Amsalazar

Military Dead Yet Speak

A few years ago, not so long after the Iraq War (re)started, I wrote and printed a piece for local consumption in our congregation.

In it I give due honor to six American war dead…and issue a call to service and sacrifice…for the kingdom of heaven.

The US military personnel featured in that article: William Wiscowiche, Mark Taylor, Kimberly Voelz, Keicia Hines, John Amos II, and Holly McGeogh.

A few minutes ago I finally got it online: Lessons in Sacrificial Service from the Fallen. Check it out for a conservative Anabaptist’s perspective.

Above all, love God!

since November 9, 2005