Clausewitz on Driving

September 19, 2013

In his book On War Carl von Clausewitz said, “Prepare for whatever your enemy can do, not what he is most likely to do.

It struck me one day how well that works for Driver’s Ed, too. As I tell my teen, don’t expect that people WILL stop at stoplights or WON’T walk in front of you in the parking lot. Prepare for what they will do, not what they should do.

If Clausewitz were around today, he could write a great Defensive Driving manual.

(September 29—

This post would have been more impressive if I’d posted it when I wrote it, before I got clocked by the teen driver last week. If only Clausewitz had been driving…)

A Miracle of Design

September 16, 2013

We saw the traveling Broadway production of “Chicago” yesterday. The production was excellent, but the costume designer interpreted the phrase “Less is More” a little too liberally in my opinion. Am still trying to figure out how the costumes actually showed more than having the performers wear only bikinis would have done.

Truly a gifted artist.

Compare and Contrast

September 5, 2013

Once again we take time off from the Lighter Side of Life to ask the all-important question: 

What the HELL is the matter with you people????

Compare the sentences for the following two crimes:

From the Idaho Statesman September 2, 2013

N. Idaho Man Convicted of Abuse Slated for Release

SANDPOINT, Idaho — A northern Idaho man convicted of molesting a child in Bonner County over a four-year period may soon be released on probation after serving only months in a prison treatment program.

The Bonner Daily Bee reported Roy Lewis Baldwin received a five-year to 25-year prison term when he was sentenced in February.

At the time, however, 1st District Judge John T. Mitchell retained jurisdiction, meaning he could be released earlier if he successfully completed a prison rehabilitation program.

Last week, Mitchell ordered Baldwin released on probation, pending a polygraph and psychosexual evaluation.

He's currently being held in Bonner County Jail in Sandpoint.

Prosecutors say Baldwin, who is 67, sexually abused a Bonner County girl from 2008 to 2012 when she was between the ages of 6 and 10.

Idaho Statesman, September 5, 2013

Man Gets at Least 12 Years for Kidnapping Boy 

Orofino—A former Lewiston man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping the 6-year-old and holding him at knifepoint while demanding a ride into Orofino has been sentenced. The Lewiston Tribune reports 2^nd District Judge Michael J. Griffin sentenced Roger D. Ehler, 57, on Tuesday to up to 20 years in prison, with 12 fixed.

And let’s not forget the Montana judge who sentenced a teacher to 30 days in jail for having sexual relations with a 14-year-old student because the victim was “older than her chronological age” and “as much in control of the situation as the teacher was.” Prosecutors are protesting the sentence.

I’m not actually an activist, but I would like to slap a few people.

A Little TOO Colloquial?

September 1, 2013

Our church has been moving to an updated translation of the Bible. It’s great for making it relatable, but I think I’ve noticed a pitfall:

“Then He turned to the host. ‘The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks.’ ”

If this version catches on, will a generation of Sunday School children grow up thinking that there were railroads in Jesus’s time?