Endeavour's Last Ride

A chapter of American exceptionalism comes to a close...


Let's hope there are more chapters...

Side Tracks

Staying with a space theme again this week, unfortunately, in tribute to the passing of American (and world) hero Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon.

The late 60s for me was a time of utter fascination with all things dealing with the frontier of space and the possibilities therein.  I don't know when I've ever had that feeling since.

Lunar Logic

Not getting this "darkest day in 456 years" story. So help me out here...

1. The full moon will occur on the exact day as the winter solstice, shortest day of the year, the first time since 1999.

2. During this full moon on the solstice there will also be a full lunar eclipse. The last time that occurred was 372 years ago, in the year 1638, according to the US Naval Observatory. They are the moon experts, by the way.

3. So why are Drudge and others saying 456 years? Well, they are crediting NASA, but I can't find any numbers on NASA's web pages. True, I could be missing some kind of Muslim conversion factor.

4. The media is making a big deal about it being the 'darkest day'. It'll be pretty dark during the short period of time the full moon is in eclipse, then it will be a full moon again, and pretty darn light. For nighttime, that is. A very long night.

5. But wouldn't it be darker during a New Moon? You know, that one day a month when the ole man completely shuts off the light all night? When was the last time a new moon occurred on the solstice?

But OK, who am I to poop the party? We can get into the weird here. Some will see it as a sign of the times--or maybe that our cosmic visitors have arrived. Others may see a sign--of the end times. Others will make fun of the whole thing while others wonder 'which moon'? I'm just wondering whether it explains why that Giants punter punted the ball like he did.

Aviation Update

PRAISE ALLAH

The convicted and released Pan Am 103 bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi may live another 10 years with his terminal cancer. It's a miracle! He seems to have the same doctors as Tariq Aziz and Izzat al-Douri. How must the victims' families feel about this? And doesn't Obama care, especially after BP's name was dropped in the original story as being involved in an oil deal with Quedaffy as part of the swap. Time for some more ass-kicking and boots on the neck?

CRASH INVESTIGATIONS

We await any sort of official reports on the following accidents: Afriqiyah Airways 8U771; Ethiopian 409; Air France 447; Yemenia 626 (one update here); Kenyan Airways 507. Most if not all are being investigated by the French BEA.

NOT REALLY AVIATION, BUT...

It's technically part of the air. NASA's new administrator is making some waves with the revelation of the "foremost mission" given him by Obama--to reach out for the stars...all the way up to Allah.

Now, there's nothing wrong with prodding to world of Islam to catch back up to its glorious days of Cordoba, but is that really the job of NASA? And won't some of the conspiracy-loving Arabs be reading all kinds of nefarious intentions into why our space agency chief is over in Cairo saying things like:

As we look at the Earth view on the screen behind me, we see that it is a single planet, with land masses that jut up into what is actually a single ocean covering Earth. We share one ecosystem and a thin, fragile atmosphere that protects us from the Sun. Our carbon footprints resonate across the globe. And, looking away from Earth, we see how tiny we are against a vast universe that offers endless opportunities for exploration and scientific discovery to benefit all mankind.

Sounds kind of innocuous in a Coke commercial kind of way, or one-world government-ish, or American hegemonious, depending on perspective. Some took offense to Bush 41's 'new world order' speech in 1990, after all.

But the overarching strategy is probably to bring them into the 21st century, or even 15th, by getting them more involved in western science and technology so maybe they won't indiscriminately kill us. Thing is, Obama never does anything that feels completely innocuous--there seems to always be room for inconsistencies or a hidden purpose. So it's hard to say.

For instance, in Director Bolden's (former Shuttle Astronaut and career Marine) speech it's interesting to note that the bulk was devoted to what NASA will be doing on the ground as opposed to any final frontier forays. And it ended thusly:

As President Obama closed his message On a New Beginning here in Cairo one year ago this month – “The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God’s vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.” Thank you and peace be with you all!

Er, which God? Most of the Muslims targeted for reset generally believe Allah is the only way to peace through conversion, while here in America groups like the Baptists believe everyone must be converted and saved in Christ, but there will be no peace on earth until after global war. The government must take pains to recognize everyone's diversity on the matter, including the atheists, being careful not to mix religion with public policy.

Which means the government is not supposed to rule govern via any crazy religious suppositions about God wanting global peace or anything else. Sure, Obama's "work here on Earth" is probably devoted towards a global spreading the wealth sort of peace but saying it without the God component sounds a bit presumptuous. It's also hard to make the case to a religious group (featuring some using that religion as an excuse to kill us) about what God may want without using God in the argument despite the separation of church, or mosque, and state, although presuming anything to do with His will is strictly another matter. So sticky, the wicket.