I hesitate to mention it....but an economist was talking on NPR, this
morning.
He had controversial views on the crime wave vs abortion, and on swim
pools vs guns.

Here was his assertion on swim pools:
there are X children drowned each year in swim pools.
(He mentioned a figure - I think it was in the hundreds.)

There are Y children killed each year from gun-shot wounds from
home-based weapons.

the gun-deaths Y are less than the drowning numbers X
but there are about as many guns as the US population numbers.
And there are many less swim pools than the US population.
HENCE, home swim-pools are MUCH more dangerous than
home-owners guns....

His views on abortion are even more inflammatory - that there is a
clear relation between the beginning of the option to choose abortion,
and 20 years later, the reduction in violent crime. His assertion:
that unwanted children suffer adverse consequences of being raised in
an unwanted or insufficient family environment.

Brian Whatcott


On Sun, 10 Apr 2005 00:05:36 GMT, "Padeen"
wrote:

Have any kids, Larry?

I had two, now I have one. Lost the second @ 4 yrs to drowning in his
grandparent's backyard swimming pool. S*it does happen, even in the home
environment. We, his parents, did survive, overcame the horrors of guilt,
and have a healthy life.

The point? Babies need care and supervision everywhere, all the time. This
can be provided almost anywhere, including on a sailboat. Avoiding sailing
because of uncontrollable catastrophes is like refusing to ride in an
automobile because of the annual highway death toll. OTOH, providing a
child with the confined and continual care a cruising lifestyle encompasses
has considerable advantages over tot-care, traffic, neighborhood crime,
suburban rat-racing, TV, mall crawlers, and backyard swimming pools.

Padeen


"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
...
rhys wrote in
:

You do what you can, Larry. My kid is learning to swim this year and
is very agile and safety-conscious on the boat, as are we. Is the


Excellent care. But, alas, they are taking a tiny baby to sea. The baby
cannot appreciate or comprehend anything about being on the boat, so we're
not giving him/her the experience of a lifetime. What we ARE doing is
placing the baby in danger. The baby can't swim and the parents can't
save
the baby if the boat sinks because they may not be able to save
themselves.
Oh, I've read all these wonderful stories of the baby that's been to sea
since he was 5 days old. But, it only has to happen just ONCE. The baby
lost at sea, the parents survive...but to what? They've killed their
baby.
How awful that must feel, no matter how macho their stupid asses are.....

When the child is fully concious as to his surroundings, has learned to
swim the length of the pool and is large enough to wear a proper
PFD....then, and only then, should the child be on a boat.

But not a defenseless, helpless baby!

How stupid.....disgusting. They put the child in danger just so they
don't
have to sacrifice their own pleasure..... The baby and the nursing mother
belong at home.