Travis Dotson, Councilman

Ichthus 2008

2008-06-15T20:36:00.002-04:00

I have created a new blog to post my photos of Ichthus 2008. You can access it Here.

Travis

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an American

2007-11-07T12:29:00.000-05:00

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

The Inaccuracy of Kathy Griffin's remarks on Jesus

2007-09-14T11:30:00.000-04:00

Lauren Green writes a blog on FoxNews and has some great entries. Here is her most recent:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296683,00.html

I just don't understand comedian Kathy Griffin. Please understand that I like her. She's been on the FOX News Channel quite a bit and for the brief times we've talked, I've found her to be funny and self-effacing.
So, it puzzled me at first, then angered me second, that she would accept an award and then insult a man who preached love and acceptance. Why would someone do that? William Donohue of the Catholic League was so angry that he used the “b” word to describe her (rhymes with rich).
In case you haven't yet heard, on Saturday night at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Kathy Griffin won a trophy for her show, "My Life on the D-List." Griffin is sort of the female Rodney Dangerfield. Her gimmick is that she's an entertainer who doesn't get a lot of respect. When she accepted her long-awaited award, she said: "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus."
Now I could have been mildly insulted at that and turned the other cheek, as the founder of Christianity taught. But then she went on to say "Suck it, Jesus. This award is my God now."
Needless to say, she offended me and millions of other Christians.
I don't know what went through her mind and why she would think that was cutting edge or even funny. But first, I want to actually show you that, in fact, Kathy Griffin is wrong. Jesus had everything to do with her winning that award. And here's the reasoning.
Jesus died on a cross 2,000 years ago. His dying words were, "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." He died and they buried him in a rock cut tomb. Three days later, as the Bible says, he rose from the dead. That day is what Christians celebrate as Easter.
After the resurrection, Christianity began to take off like wildfire, spreading from the Middle East northward to Europe and westward into Ethiopia. In 300 A.D. Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity and it beccame the religion of Europe. Rome soon became the seat of the faith. After several years of human failings, the church went through conflicts and quite a few unbiblical years — the crusades and the inquisition to name just two. Out of that came the Reformation — the reforming of the Church, sort of a back-to-basics Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Out of the Reformation emerged a vision of law by Samuel Rutherford, called Lex is Rex, Law is King. From that, others devised a secular version that is used to help lay the foundation of government for a new land called America. Ninety-four percent of America's founding era documents mention the Bible; 34 percent quote the Bible directly. The idea of bringing unity to the universal is a particularly Biblical concept.
The freedoms we enjoy in this country to speak freely and to live freely are directly related to that man who died on a cross 2,000 years ago.
So, you see, Kathy Griffin, Jesus has everything to do with you winning that award. You live in a free country where your abilities can be recognized if you're willing to work hard enough. That's at least the dream of America. If you'd been born in many other parts of the world, your daily activity might involve seeking out a way to survive, or even trying to avoid persecution and death. Luxuries like pursuing a career in the entertainment industry would never have been realized; luxuries like being able to insult the founder of a religion of forgiveness and acceptance would not have been possible.
Kathy Griffin, just because you "can" say something, doesn't mean you "should." When you say "suck it, Jesus," you didn't just insult Christianity … you insulted the very reason you've prospered.

Behind the scenes at the circus

2007-06-07T18:52:00.001-04:00

I was fortunate enough to get to spend some time behind the scenes at the circus when it was in town and I took some photos during the elephants' bath time.

George Washington's Prayer for the United States of America

2006-11-23T11:47:00.000-05:00

Almighty GOD; we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection, that thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States of America at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of The Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech thee, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen
---George Washington, April 30th, 1789

How far we have strayed from the vision of our forefathers...

Big Bang Produced A "Perfect Fluid"

2006-01-24T08:45:00.000-05:00

A recent article posted in Science News magazine is shown in the second paragraph below. What do you think of the comparison?

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so.

Big Bang Produced A "Perfect Fluid"
An unexpected discovery may see physicists heading back to the drawing board in order to update models representing the Universe immediately after the Big Bang. In an experiment not previously possible, physicists have created the state of matter thought to have filled the Universe just a few microseconds after the Big Bang. To their astonishment, physicists found that instead of a gas, the substance was more like a liquid. Understanding why it is a liquid should take physicists a step closer to explaining the earliest moments of our Universe.
The liquid is said to exhibit characteristics like nothing else physicists have observed before, and its collective movement is rather like the way a school of fish swims "as one". In fact, physicists' tentative calculations suggest that its extraordinarily low viscosity makes it the most perfect fluid ever created.
The new state of matter was forged in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, situated at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Colliding the central cores of gold atoms together, head-on at almost the speed of light, the researchers created a fleeting, microscopic version of the Universe a few microseconds after the Big Bang. This included achieving a temperature of several million million degrees (about 150,000 times the temperature at the center of the Sun). They then detected and analyzed the explosive rush of particles that this miniature Big Bang created. Researchers had confidently believed that they would observe something like "steam", made up of free quarks and gluons, but instead the researchers saw evidence of collective movement as the hot matter flowed out of the collision site. This indicated stronger interactions between the particles than expected, leading to the belief that the quark-gluon plasma is similar to a liquid.
This latest development is much more unusual than anyone expected. "No one predicted that it would be a liquid," said Professor John Nelson from the University of Birmingham, who heads the British involvement in the multinational experiment. "This aspect was totally unexpected and will lead to new scientific research regarding the properties of matter at extremes of temperature and density, previously inaccessible in a laboratory."
The liquid defies physicists' current understanding of how matter in the universe behaved microseconds after the Big Bang. According to previous models there should be no evidence of matter - as we know it - in existence mere microseconds after the big bang, because the extreme temperatures generated would have been far to high for any matter to exist…

A Quote from Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

2006-01-16T22:33:00.000-05:00

...Therefore, I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is beleagured and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essense of the Nobel Prize.

After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that movement is a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time - - the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts. Negroes of the United States, following the people of India, have demonstrated that nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation. Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood, If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love....

It seems at times that his message has been lost...

The Eastern Corridor

2005-11-04T11:15:00.000-05:00

Here is a website to track updates on the Eastern Corridor which has been discussed for many years. If it comes to fruition it will eventually connect SR 32, east of Newtown to Red Bank Road which connects to I71. You can access the website here http://www.easterncorridor.org

2005-11-01T20:09:00.001-05:00

These pictures were taken from my home today right before dusk. There was a fog just starting to form. The pictures look a tad grainy because of the light conditions but still not too bad. I think the setting sun really helped bring out the oranges in the fall color.

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2005-10-30T17:27:00.000-05:00

I went out to the Reisinger Road boat dock at East Fork Lake to get a few pictures of the lake and the fall colors. It was a bit windy and I was afraid that I would not get any decent shots. It turned out that I did get a few decent ones. As always, you can click on the images to see larger ones.

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2005-10-30T17:22:00.000-05:00

My buddy Gary took me out for a trip in his airplane over the weekend. It was my first time flying in a private plane and I really enjoyed it. I had no idea that you had to turn so many knobs to fly a plane!

2005-10-30T17:20:00.001-05:00

Here is another view of his plane

2005-10-30T17:20:00.000-05:00

Here is a shot of the V-Tail from the rear

2005-10-30T17:19:00.000-05:00

Here is a shot from the air. I think my RC setup is better for AP;)

Bridge Day 2005

2005-10-27T11:14:00.000-04:00

I recently went on a weekend trip with some buddies to Bridge Day 2005. You can see some photo's of the weekend here:

2005-10-02T20:33:00.000-04:00

Here is another view of the village of Georgetown, Ohio. You can see the fairgrounds at the bottom right.

2005-10-02T20:32:00.000-04:00

Here is a view of Georgetown, Ohio. the road sweeping in from the bottom left is SR125 looking east.

2005-10-02T20:24:00.000-04:00

Saturday, late afternoon, at the Brown County Fair - This picture shows the center ring as well as all the barns. In the background is the tractor pull area where a tractor is preparing the strip for the super modified classes.

2005-10-02T20:21:00.000-04:00

Saturday, late afternoon, at the Brown County Fair - This picture shows the carnival area and the Floral Hall.

2005-10-02T20:19:00.000-04:00

Saturday, late afternoon, at the Brown County Fair - This picture shows the carnival area and also the center ring to the right side

2005-09-11T18:49:00.000-04:00

Hebbard farm, shot 4

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Hebbard farm, shot 3

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Hebbard farm, shot 2

2005-09-11T18:48:00.000-04:00

Here is shot 1 of the Hebbard farm.

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Picture 7

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Picture 6

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Picture 5

2005-09-11T15:13:00.002-04:00

Picture 4

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Picture 3

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Picture 2

2005-09-11T15:12:00.000-04:00

Picture 1 taken at the Hebbard Farm of their corn and surrounding farmland.

2005-09-05T22:22:00.000-04:00

Here is a shot of my parents farm, where I grew up. It is located between Russellville and Decatur, Ohio. You can see some cattle on the right hand side of the photo.

2005-09-05T22:18:00.000-04:00

Here is another shot of Dad's tobacco patch. As you can see from the high tension wires, the RC plane was fairly high.

2005-09-05T22:15:00.000-04:00

Here is an aerial photo taken over the weekend of the countryside near Russellville, Ohio

2005-09-05T22:13:00.000-04:00

Here is an aerial photo taken over the weekend of my brother's home near Russellville, Ohio. In the center of the picture is my father's tobacco patch.

2005-09-02T09:30:00.000-04:00

Another shot of the rising sun's affects on the fog.

2005-09-02T09:29:00.000-04:00

Looking north, Kennedy-Ford Road is visible at bottom right

2005-09-02T09:28:00.000-04:00

A view of the fog around my home.

2005-09-02T09:27:00.000-04:00

Looking east towards the rising sun

2005-03-04T19:53:00.000-05:00

Here is a view of the new public library building being built in Bethel.

2005-03-04T19:50:00.000-05:00

Here is a view of State Route 125 (Plane Street) looking east into Bethel, Ohio

2005-02-22T11:21:00.000-05:00

Here is another image from the RC plane. This is a shot of the woods and creek in our back yard.

2005-02-22T11:19:00.000-05:00

The successful test of my RC airplane set-up with a digital camera. This photo is looking west and shows a large portion of the south half of Bethel

Computer Tip of the Day

2005-02-16T22:54:00.000-05:00

As I was reading through some other blogs, I came across a great desktop addition called the Desktop Sidebar. It provides a wealth of information and is highly configurable / customizable. You can see some screenshots of it here.

Tired of all those pop-up windows?

2005-02-15T21:31:00.000-05:00

Try using an alternative web browser called Mozilla Firefox.

Asteroid Near Miss coming in 2029

2005-02-15T10:13:00.000-05:00

Read about it here.

2005-02-13T18:35:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture taken of our back yard, on the morning of January 30, 2005, following a night of snow.

New Bible Translation may be flawed

2005-02-12T09:18:00.000-05:00

Apparently there is a new Bible translation called Today's New International Bible that seems to be somewhat of a distortion in translation. You can read the news story here.

Support the 216th!

2005-02-11T11:54:00.000-05:00

As you know, there is going to be a homecoming parade held in Bethel on March 5th for the 216th Engineering Battalion. In case you are interested, you can purchase lapel type pins that show the official crest of the 216th Engineering Battalion. They are a bit pricey, but are well made. Here is the link to them:
http://ec-securehost.com/uniformaccessoriesunlimited/CREST_216TH_ENG_BN.html

Odd Government Study

2005-02-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

Here is an article on USAtoday's website regarding a recent Airforce research project. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-11-05-teleportation_x.htm

2005-02-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

Sunset from our back yard, December 2004

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This image was also taken on Christmas Eve.

2005-02-10T22:10:00.000-05:00

This image was taken on Christmas Eve 2004 following the heavy ice storm.

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Quote of the Day

It is strange the way the ignorant and inexperienced so often and so undeservedly succeed when the informed and the experienced fail.
- Mark Twain