Monday, May 12, 2008
Personhood in Colorado
A prolife group in Colorado says on Tuesday it will turn in more than enough signatures to qualify an initiative on the state's November ballot recognizing the personhood of unborn human beings from the moment of fertilization. The initiative potentially sets up a challenge to the 1973 Supreme Court decisions which imposed abortion on demand in the United States and will highlight the visibility of abortion during this year's elections for president and other offices.
Awaiting a Launch Site Decision
Orbital Sciences Corporation will shortly announce it's decision on whether its primary launch site for the Taurus II rocket will be Wallops Island, Virginia or Cape Canaveral, Florida. The vehicle will be one of those selected by NASA to demonstrate capabilities to resupply the International Space Station.
Along with my desire to see larger rockets launched from a location three hours driving distance from my residence, I think the nation could use two Atlantic coast orbital launch facilities to provide redundancy inn case of hurricane damage to either site.
Labels: Space
Friday, April 25, 2008
Cosmic Bumper Cars
The Space Telescope Science Institute yesterday released a collection of images of colliding galaxies to mark the eighteenth anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. The awesome images show a variety of structures caused by the collisions of these huge collections of stars. Be sure to check the tabs for videos, information and related links.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A Blessed Day in DC!
It was quite an experience to participate in the Mass this morning with Pope Benedict XVI in Washington, DC in a congregation of over 45,000. A joyous spirit filled the participants and I also noticed excitement and interest among others who did not attend the Mass. Here are a few of my pictures from Nationals Stadium.
The Holy Father Enters Nationals Stadium in the Popemobile
Pope Benedict Delivers his Homily during the Mass
Nationals Stadium as an Outdoor Church
For more background, here are reports from EWTN and the Washington Post.
Labels: Faith
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Welcome Pope Benedict XVI!
Pope Benedict arrived this afternoon at Andrews AFB aboard 'Shepherd One', the call sign for the Alitalia jet that brought him from Rome. The Holy Father will have a heavy itinerary over the next five days in Washington, DC and New York City, proclaiming the theme of his visit, Christ Our Hope.
Papal fever has been building for days and I'm excited to be able to participate. I will be going with my parish Thursday morning to the outdoor Mass at the new Nationals Stadium. Stay tuned to EWTN for TV and Internet coverage of the papal visit.
Labels: Faith
Politics of Condescension
It seems that the two Democratic presidential wannabees aren't so much tearing each other up but each tripping themselves up. Hillary Clinton had barely torpedoed her own campaign with her tale of imaginary snipers when Barack Obama comes along commiserating with affluent liberal donors in San Francisco about small town residents 'clinging' to guns or religion out of 'bitterness' over the economy.
Noemie Emery writes that Obama's revelation has been a pattern followed by some previous Democratic candidates.
After their unexpected loss in 2004, Democrats were much too impressed by Thomas Frank's treatise What's the Matter With Kansas? which complained that they lost because middle-class voters were too stupid to vote their 'real' interests (which were presumably served by the Democrats), because conservatives wickedly played on their fears. ('Fear' is the Democrats' answer for every vote they don't get.)
Labels: Politics
Friday, April 11, 2008
Yuri's Night
Saturday is the annual celebration of Yuri's Night with 189 parties scheduled on and around the planet. Find a party near you to celebrate humanity's steps into space. I'll be attending the celebration at the Goddard Space Flight Center Visitors Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Labels: Space
Trading Places
Soyuz launch of Expedition Seventeen on Tuesday Credit: NASA TV
The crew handover on the International Space Station is underway with the arrival on Thursday of Expedition Seventeen to relieve Expedition Sixteen.
Labels: Space
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Circus on the Severn Folds Its Tent for 2008
The Maryland General Assembly adjourned its 2008 session last night. This WBAL report summarizes what was done and (in some cases, thankfully) not done. Here is a summary of legislation posted by the Maryland Catholic Conference.
Labels: Politics
Monday, March 31, 2008
Terri's Day
Today is the third anniversary of the court-imposed cruel death of Terri Schindler Schiavo. Terri's family have asked that this date be observed as a day of remembrance.
Meanwhile, Nat Hentoff takes Barack Obama to task for his comments on the 2005 congressional action on Terri's case.
When he was a professor of constitutional law, Obama probably instructed his students to research and know all the facts of a case. The reason Congress asked the federal courts to review the Schiavo case was that the 41-year-old woman about to be dehydrated and starved to death was breathing normally on her own, was not terminal, and there was medical evidence that she was responsive, not in a persistent vegetative state.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Entrepreneurial Space Developments
This was a big week for developments in the emerging commercial space industry:
- XCOR went public with the announcement of its Lynx suborbital spaceplane. The vehicle's applications could include space tourism, scientific research and helping to address the military's need for 'operationally responsive' access to space.
- A commercial agreement was announced for flying a portion of a deceased persons ashes to the lunar surface, in an expansion of an existing service that takes human ashes into space.
The Space Access 2008 conference is taking place in Phoenix, Arizona. Henry Cate has posted his first report here. Note that his final paragraph links to several other bloggers covering this conference, which brings together the leaders in the emerging entrepreneurial space industry.
Labels: Space
Welcome Home Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour returned to Florida Wednesday evening following its sixteen day mission adding to the capabilities of the International Space Station.
Labels: Space
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Have a Blessed and Happy Easter!
At daybreak on the first day of the week
the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus
took the spices they had prepared
and went to the tomb.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;
but when they entered,
they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were puzzling over this, behold,
two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.
They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.
They said to them,
"Why do you seek the living one among the dead?
He is not here, but he has been raised.
Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners
and be crucified, and rise on the third day."
And they remembered his words.
Then they returned from the tomb
and announced all these things to the eleven
and to all the others.
The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James;
the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,
but their story seemed like nonsense
and they did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb,
bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone;
then he went home amazed at what had happened.
Lk 24:1-12
For an explanation of why Easter comes so early this year, check out this Space.com article.
Labels: Faith
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Entering into the Paschal Mystery
Hugh McNichol of PewSitter.com writes about the Easter Triduum which began this evening of Holy Thursday.
For us Catholics this evening event begins recounting the events that will lead to the Cross on Good Friday, and thankfully the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. However the focus on the Eucharistic sacrifice, the partaking of the Eucharistic Bread is the event that keenly shows our Catholic identity and union.
Labels: Faith
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Sir Arthur C. Clarke, RIP
Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the science fiction author and sci/tech visionary passed away today in Sri Lanka at age 90. Clarke was the first to propose geosynchronous orbit as the place to locate the communications satellites that have served to bring our world closer together. He is perhaps most well known as the author of the story that Stanley Kubrick made into the profoundly inspirational movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Sir Arthur was one of the major influences on those of us who are involved in trying to open up the space frontier. Look for more commentary on the major space web sites and blogs.
Labels: Culture, Science, Space
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Artist unknown, Link by Catholic Forum
Monday is March 17, St. Patrick's Day. Celebrations have started early over the weekend. Also, since it happens to fall during Holy week this year, a rare occurrence, the Church is not liturgically observing the feast on Monday. So, be blessed, safe, and happy whenever you are celebrating Ireland's patron saint.
Catholic Forum provides descriptions of St. Patrick here and here.
Saint Patrick's Breastplate
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort me and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
In the spirit of the holiday, check out LiveIreland.com for webcasts of Irish music and other media direct from Ireland.
Labels: Culture, Faith, Miscellaneous
Working in Space
The STS-123 mission to the International Space Station is progressing nicely, with the addition of the logistics module for the Japanese Kibo laboratory and the work-around that has awakened the still-being-assembled Dextre robot.
Labels: Space
Life and Politics
It's been an unbelievable week, with Spitzer, Ferraro and the Preacher (Barack Obama's, that is), but there are real issues we face. ProLife Blogs has a post explaining why John McCain is the only obvious choice when it comes to protecting human life. While his support for embryonic stem cell research is definitely not prolife, he appears open to rethinking that position. Meanwhile, the two Democratic presidential wannabees are going to ridiculous extremes to please the pro-abortion lobby.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Lighting Up the Night
NASA
Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off early this morning on the STS-123 mission to the International Space Station to deliver part of the Japanese laboratory module Kibo and a Canadian robotic arm system called Dextre. The mission will last for sixteen days.
Labels: Space
Friday, March 07, 2008
The Approaching Storm
I'll be participating in the annual ProSpace March Storm on Capitol Hill next week. the issues to be presented this year include bolstering the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (space station resupply), Mitigating disastrous impacts by Near Earth Objects and promoting Space Based Solar Power as a future energy source. To learn more and to register to participate, go to this link. (Training on Sunday is a mandatory part of participation.)
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
McCain Has It
John McCain won the four primaries held today and Mike Huckabee gracefully announced he is dropping out and endorsing McCain. McCain delivered a strong speech defining how his positions on Iraq, the economy and other issues differ sharply from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who are still in too-close-to-call races in Ohio and Texas. Here's the latest posting on the whole situation from Fox News.
Labels: Politics
