Letters

Oct. 1, 2002
I loved your Vantage Point column “One nation, under God.” Well said

I do declare

I loved your Vantage Point column “One nation, under God.” Well said. Too bad that the handful of so-called intellectuals who rule our courts are blind to this truth.

Andy Straka
Technical Writer
Pepperl+Fuchs Inc.
[email protected]

I had never read the entire Declaration of Independence (until then). It is an incredible work, very inspiring. And it clearly shows that the justification for the existence of this country is inseparable from a general belief in God. The history is “in the books;” it can’t be changed.
— Larry Berardinis, Editor

It reminds me of those who claim the first amendment states there must be a separation of church and state, when it clearly never states that. Anyway, it’s just nice to hear from someone who’s not opposed to truth.
— Andy Straka

Double standard

I appreciated our Founding Father’s appearance in Motion System Design, which highlights why this Country is so blessed. If only more people would do the same. You may get some negative comments about these great words, but it would only come from communists and atheists. What’s the chance next you could slip the Ten Commandments in the next issue?

It’s sad when you can’t talk about Christ or God or read the Bible in class because it may offend someone, but it’s OK to curse God and Christ and it’s mandatory to read “The Koran” as a freshman in college.

Still “Under God,”
Randall Hoeft
Design Engineer
The Caldwell Group
[email protected]

User unfriendly

It is mid-August, and today I received my August issue of Motion Systems Design. All well and good. I was hoping to learn what is coming up in the Course Audit section - it says “Day 1,” implying that more is to come - but the August issue isn’t “current” on your Website. I cannot even find archived previous articles, and I’ve tried before to find sections of courses that are missing from my archives (the 3rd part of Calculating Drive Power Requirements, August, 2000, for example), but have had no luck. Is there a reason why this feature doesn’t show, nor work as a keyword search?

Also, I note that the list of contacts in the online Web site only seems to be connected with the advertising & promoting side, not the technical. I had to go to the hardcopy to refresh my memory of your name; the email address was already on my list. It seems to me that for a technical magazine, the contacts list should make it easy to contact technical and editorial staff members. Further, recurring types of articles should be archived in the online versions, and should be readily accessible from that location (assuming that they’re free distribution types, of course). And finally, words like “Course Audit” should work for searches if they’re used as headings within the magazine.

Thanks for letting me vent.
Ron Darner
Mechanical Engineer
Mortara Instrument
Milwaukee, Wis.
[email protected]

We really appreciate your feedback, and your comments are always welcome. As for the Course Audit Series, each is uniquely named, and when you see a “Day 1,” you can be sure a “Day 2” at the least will follow — though not necessarily in the next issue.
— Ed.

What’s to discuss?

I highly commend you for your August “In the Loop.” It will be interesting to see if you get any negative feedback. How can this be controversial, it’s our Declaration of Independence! I am going to post it outside my cubicle. Keep up the good work.

Gary
[email protected]

Continue on page 2

Ironic interpretation

It is quite ironic that in the “INTERNATIONAL” Machine Tool Show issue you would consider it appropriate to jump on a Jingoistic Nationalist platform. Please give some consideration to the fact that the vast majority of the world is not of the Christian faith! I realize that change is very frightening to right wing conservative types, but reflect for a moment on this. The fact that you find the removal of the phrase “under God” morally offensive under your Christian belief system is exactly the justification why it should have never been placed there in the first place!

Jeff Nolastname
[email protected]

Seems we have some issues here. Let’s talk. My number is (216) 931-9393.
— Larry Berardinis, Editor

A documented case

The first Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America reads, “Amendment I - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

An establishment of religion refers to Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc. With the many people of different religions coming to our country, it could be extended to Muslim, Jewish, etc. By the supreme law of our land, the Constitution, the Federal government cannot make any particular religion the official religion of the U.S.

However, the Constitution is not the supreme document of our country. Instead, the Declaration of Independence, which Mr. Berardinis reprinted in the August 2002 issue, is the top document of our country. If the Constitution were to go away, we would still be a nation, as it is the Declaration of Independence that makes us a nation. The Constitution is subservient to — is under the authority of — the Declaration of Independence. As the Declaration of Independence gives God the glory for the equality, judgment, and protection of nations, then we, as a nation, are obligated to do the same. That’s why we put “In God we Trust” on our coins, the preamble of most every state’s constitution begins with, “We the people of insert-state-name grateful to God,” and the Supreme Court and the House of Representatives and Senate invoke divine help at the beginning of each session.

If, however, we cease from seeking God and giving Him the glory, then it is very likely He would bring judgment upon us, rather than His protection (Sept. 11, 2002 was a wake-up call).

Let us therefore keep giving God the glory.
John Burhoe
Fairlawn, Ohio
[email protected]

Heavy questions

I had a question about the “Applying Step Motors Successfully” article in the August issue.

On page 15, the acceleration torque equation is Ta = J x a. What would J be, weight inertia or mass inertia?

If it is weight inertia, how do I convert from mass inertia?

George Downey
Mechanical Design Engineer
Medica Corporation
Bedford, Mass.
[email protected]

Actually, you can use either mass inertia or weight inertia, but eventually you will need to get your units to a torque value. I would suggest starting out with mass inertia (oz-in.2) because step motor rotor values are usually listed this way. Carry your units through this way when determining total system inertia, and then when you’re ready to multiply by your acceleration rate (radians/sec2) you can divide your mass inertia by the gravitational constant, g, in order for the units to cancel, and you’re left with a unit of torque (i.e. oz-in.).
— Allen Chasey, Oriental Motor USA Corp.

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