There
Still A Class Act
Neil Armstrong doesn’t make many public appearances, but when he does, they’re invariably in keeping with the demeanor of a national hero. I was fortunate enough to see him speak at the USC commencement a couple years ago, and he gave a great speech, that wasn’t about him, but was about the graduates and their future.
According to this story, he was also recently an inspiration to some kids in Israel:
Asked what lasting value the flights to the moon had, Armstrong responded they showed that “the human species, all of us, is not forever chained to the planet Earth.” He added, “I hope that man continues to expand his and her presence in space in the years ahead.”
Armstrong had advice for youngsters who want to be an astronaut one day: “That requires getting a very good education, particularly in the fields of science and mathematics.”
Israel’s only astronaut to take part in a space flight, Col. Ilan Ramon, was killed in the disintegration of the Columbia space shuttle on Feb. 1, 2003, along with the other six crew members. But Armstrong had only warm words about space travel.
“How does it feel to be inside a space ship?” a small girl asked him. With a huge smile, Armstrong replied, “You would like it.”
Asked if he would take a second chance to go back to the moon today, Armstrong jumped to his feet and said, “Of course,” and embracing the questioner, a teenage boy, asking him if he would like to come along.
Armstrong left Israel Tuesday evening without talking to reporters.
Smart move.
Al Qaeda Is Losing On The Ground
…and winning in the media and in Washington. It’s Tet all over again, and we’re just letting them do it.
A congressionally-imposed defeat in Iraq may be averted by a swing in the polls, or more precisely, a swing in the GRPs that move the polls. Given the military’s long standing Public Affairs policy of media neutrality, the administration and the Generals will have to earn the GRPs in a hostile media environment. This is difficult, but not impossible, given the substantial American center – Citizens who would prefer victory if given reason to hope.
Alternately, Congress could defy the polls. Al Qaeda is running its war on smoke and mirrors – or, more accurately, on bytes of sound and sight. Congress could act on General Petraeus’ reports from the ground, rather than broadcasts generated by insurgents. This requires a simple commitment – one foreign to many in the elective branch: Leadership.
Something that seems to be in frighteningly short supply inside the Beltway these days. As Glenn notes:
Targeting our politicians and journalists is clearly going after our weak points…
Yes, they’re pretty soft targets.
[Update late morning]
Despite the cheerleading for them from the media and Congressional leadership, Michael Yon says that Al Qaeda is on the run in Iraq:
The focus on al Qaeda makes sense here, where local officials have gone on record acknowledging that most of the perhaps one thousand al Qaeda fighters in Baqubah were young men and boys who called the city home. This may clash with the perception in US and other media that only a small percentage of the enemy in Iraq is al Qaeda, which in turn leads to false conclusions that the massive offensive campaign underway across Iraq is a lot of shock and awe aimed at a straw enemy. But as more Sunni tribal leaders renounce former ties with al Qaeda, it
Mid-Atlantic Spaceport
Dan Schmelzer provides a little tour of Wallops Island and its environs, with pictures.
I’ve never been there, and found this interesting:
As you may know, SpaceX and NASA are in preliminary discussions for the Falcon 9 to launch from Wallops for International Space Station servicing missions. After visiting the area around the spaceport, it strikes me that the rocket is large for launching as close as a couple miles from inhabited areas. I do not think that Wallops has launched a rocket even close to the size of the Falcon 9. Also, the infrastructure in the surrounding area — such as roads and railroads — don’t appear to be suitable for large rockets. I guess SpaceX would have to barge its rockets in. But if SpaceX does launch from Wallops, it would be quite a sight to see.
I wonder if they’ve done the quantity-distance calculation? While politically, it makes a lot of sense to use Wallops (it gives Senators Mikulski and House Majority Leader Hoyer reason to support it), the FAA may not allow them to do it if it’s too close to populated areas. We’ll see what happens with the launch license application.
I also wonder if the local residents know what they’re in for acoustically, since they’re used to much smaller rockets.
Do Liberals Like Space?
Ferris Valyn has a new set of links up, with an extensive discussion on whether or not so-called liberals are opposed to space expenditures. I think that it’s a pointless argument. Both support of, and opposition to, space spending (and government space spending) are bi-partisan (or rather, non-partisan). Both “liberals” and “conservatives” can have reasons to go either way. Of course, it’s silly to oppose VSE simply because George Bush proposed it, but many otherwise sensible people (at least on space issues) seem to do so.
A Novel Solution To Global Warming
When I saw this headline, I wasn’t sure whether or not it was a joke (I’m pretty sure it is).
It reminds me of the old joke about the farmer who had a mule. His barn door was a little short, and every time the mule went through it, his ears would brush against the upper frame. So he got out a saw and cut two notches for the ears to pass through. After his neighbor came over in response to the sound of the barn collapsing, he asked the farmer why he did it. After the explanation, he asked, “Well, why didn’t you just dig a trench through the doorway?” The farmer replied, “It was his ears that were too long, not his legs.”
The Anti-Sheehan
My adult son’s independent decision about what he wants to do with his life has no bearing on me or on what I write. My views and words about the issues that have concerned me for five years or more are not one gram more significant nor my arguments one iota stronger or weaker because of the decision which he independently made. Judge me as a parent if you will, but please do not judge my positions as a writer based on this act by someone else.
Also, on the chutzpah of the surrenderistas at New York Times:
One of the main arguments supporting the claim that we should leave now is the obvious and real collapse of public support for the war – a collapse that is shocking, just shocking, given the years of media spin on the war – media spin that bloggers have been pointing out continually. There’s something to say about the media and antiwar left beating on public opinion for four years, and then using that collapse of public opinion as an argument for their position.
Jules Crittendon has further thoughts on that subject.
New Congressional Moonbat
For those with nostalgic longings for Cynthia McKinney, meet Congressman Keith Ellison:
On comparing Sept. 11 to the burning of the Reichstag building in Nazi Germany: “It’s almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that. After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it and it put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted. The fact is that I’m not saying [Sept. 11] was a [U.S.] plan, or anything like that because, you know, that’s how they put you in the nut-ball box — dismiss you.”
As Lileks notes, yup…could happen. In fact, I think he’s too late.
There’s more lunacy at the link.
Overrespected
Virginia Postrel reiterates a point that I’ve made many times–that even if we accept a scientific consensus on climate change doesn’t mean that we should blindly follow their advice on what to do about it:
…even assuming that scientists agree on the facts, science can only tell us something about the state of the world. It cannot tell us what policy is the best to adopt. Scientists’ preferences are not “science.” You cannot go from an “is” (science) to an “ought” (policy).
The Customer’s Always Wrong
Katie Couric says that the problem is that the viewers weren’t ready for her.
Well, she’s right. I know I wasn’t.