Life at the Frontier

Newt’s Bold Space Proposals

2012-01-26T23:00:00.010-05:00

NASA

While campaigning for the Florida Primary vote, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced on January 25 some bold proposals for accelerating our nation's space activities. These include establishing a permanent lunar base by 2020 (what would be the end of his second term if he wins the 2012 and 2016 elections), developing a new means of propulsion in the same period in preparation for missions to Mars and dedicating 10% of NASA’s budget to offering prizes for development of new space technological capabilities.

Putting aside all the political issues surrounding Gingrich and the current campaign, the question to address here is whether these proposals are realistic, especially given the severe constraints on spending due to the national debt. These initiatives are definitely bold, but as Gingrich pointed out, President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to reach the moon within a decade at a time when the only experience in human spaceflight was Yuri Gagarin’s single orbit of the Earth and Alan Shepard’s suborbital flight.

The proposal to devote 10% of NASA’s budget to incentive prizes would be a major expansion of the smaller NASA's Centennial Challenges program already offering prizes. Some of the technologies addressed by this program including lunar lander demonstrations, lunar regolith (soil) excavation and astronaut glove designs would be useful to any return to the Moon to stay effort.

The establishment of even a small lunar base by 2020 would greatly accelerate the schedule currently projected by NASA and would seem to require a large increase in spending, a difficult case to make in this current economic and political environment. As Gingrich himself says, this initiative would not be practical doing business as usual at NASA and other government agencies. But some things are already starting to change in the space industry, including NASA’s move to rely on commercial transportation services to carry crew and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). Cargo deliveries by SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation are set to begin later this year and several companies are vying to provide crew transportation for NASA starting around the middle of the decade. Gingrich did say in his speech that it would be necessary to be "practical" by, for example, using existing rockets such as the Atlas V in the effort. These rockets are not as powerful as the Space Launch System (SLS) now starting to be developed by NASA (under mandate of Congress). But the SLS would not be available until late in the decade at best and would probably be very expensive to operate, given that a smaller number of these large rockets would be procured.

Leading NASA and industry experts are already developing innovative strategies to enable humans to operate beyond Earth orbit and in the lunar vicinity within a few years, including use of small way stations in gravitationally stable points in cis-lunar space (the region of space surrounding the Earth and the Moon). Some of these architectures could make use of existing rockets including Atlas V, Delta IV and Falcon 9. The development of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy (which will have an advertised capability of launching 53 mT (117,000 lb) to low Earth orbit at competitive prices when it becomes available in 2013) will allow some more flexibility to launch larger payloads in support of a lunar effort. The commercial sector could be engaged to use these rockets to deliver hardware to establish a pioneering lunar base to the Moon prior to the arrival of the first lunar crew. That hardware would include equipment to utilize resources existing on the Moon to further develop and expand the facility.

Beyond innovative technical and operational solutions and increased reliance on the commercial sector, establishing a lunar base by 2020 will require forgoing the bureaucratic management style that has dominated government space efforts for the past few decades and a willingness to accept more risk to mission success and adopting greater flexibility in responding to and overcoming failures.

The Gingrich proposal to develop new propulsion technology to enable faster trips to Mars may sound like science fiction, and politicians have been known to try to wish new technologies into existence by throwing taxpayers’ money at them. However, alternative propulsion technologies have been developed and tested to varying levels. Advanced ground testing of nuclear rocket engines was accomplished in the sixties and early seventies before the program was cancelled. Gingrich may have had in mind a program currently under development by the Ad Astra Company called Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR). A prototype is to be tested at the ISS possibly as early as 2014. VASIMR’s designers claim it would reduce travel time to Mars from months to around 39 days. With some additional focused funding, this or a similar technology might become operational around 2020.

Admittedly, this is a very high level analysis without hard numbers, but it would seem that with some fundamental innovations and changes in the way we do business in space, Newt Gingrich’s bold proposals could be achievable, though challenging, under a constrained budget.

For society to undertake this kind of adventure and to accept the risks involved, there needs to be a clear case to be made as for why we should move into this frontier. I’ll make two points very briefly. In the near term, we need to spur new industries to grow our economy to create more jobs and reduce our debt. Space industries, along with biotechnology, information technology and nanotechnology are new industries that can help expand our economy.

Looking to the longer term, we have an obligation and a privilege to expand in order to provide for future generations. Accessing the resources of space to provide for a growing population of human persons is a positive approach to the future. This differs from the Malthusian world view that has been ascendant in our culture in recent times that undermines the dignity of human life and liberty through coercive population control policies that have also distorted the demographic structures of societies around the world.

Expansion into space means some will chose to seek opportunity by settling places beyond Earth. Gingrich addressed this idea by recalling his proposed legislation to grant statehood to a lunar settlement of 13,000 or more residents should they apply. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits national claims on celestial bodies, but it may not be clear how it would address a settlement population applying for annexation. Then again, the people living at a lunar settlement might choose to take their cue from our nation's Founding Fathers and from Robert Heinlein’s novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and declare their independence. The future is full of possibilities.

NASA's Day of Remembrance

2012-01-26T10:22:00.003-05:00

NASA is observing the anniversaries of its human losses in spaceflight: Apollo 1 (forty five years ago tomorrow), Challenger (twenty six years ago Saturday), and Columbia (nine years ago next Wednesday, February 1).

Here is a link to a NASA multimedia presentation for today's Day of Remembrance.

NASA - Day of Remembrance

We Came in Huge Numbers to March for Life

2012-01-24T23:37:00.015-05:00

While much of the Old Media didn't bother to tell you, citizens gathered in mass numbers (perhaps hundreds of thousands) in spite of a chilly light rain to March for Life on Monday, marking the 39th anniversary of the infamous Supreme Court decisions that imposed abortion on demand on our nation. The crowd was energized with the realization that this year brings a critical decision point for our society in the fight to protect the dignity of every human life.

The people surged along Constitution Ave. for ~2 hours...

...to convey a beautiful message.

This sign acknowledges a power above the Supreme Court.

The evening before the March, I attended the packed National Vigil for Life Mass and then in the morning I attended the ProLifeCon conference which emphasized the powerful role of new social media in communicating the cause of life.

These little fingers of a baby at 21 weeks of pregnancy that captured the world's attention in 1999...

...belong to Samuel Armas (now 12 years old) who joined his Mom and photographer Michael Clancy, who took that famous photo, at ProLifeCon on Monday. (For more on this famous photo and the controversy surrounding it, click here.)

Why We March

2012-01-21T19:50:00.008-05:00

This is a slightly revised and updated article I first wrote and posted in 2004 at this time.

Sunday, January 22, marks the 39th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court decisions which imposed abortion-on-demand in the United States. Once again, concerned citizens will gather on Monday, the 23rd, for the annual March for Life, which in recent years has usually drawn more than an estimated 200,000 participants. Now, why do so many people consider it so important to take time on a weekday to come to Washington, DC at the coldest time of the year to make their voice heard on this matter?

Before I go on any further, I need to say a couple of things. First, nothing in this article is meant to condemn anyone who has had an abortion or has been involved in abortion in some way. Far from condemning those with an abortion in their past, the people in the prolife movement are about healing and forgiveness, and want it to be clear that there is hope after abortion. Post-abortion counseling can be found through many church denominations and pregnancy counseling centers.

And second, while the prolife movement consists largely of people with strong religious convictions who feel called by God to defend the defenseless, that doesn't make the protection of human life a narrow, religious issue. The facts that the defenseless exist and that they deserve protection in the human family can be persuasively advocated by non-religiously reasoned arguments.

First, let's start with a little scientific background (from the Science for Unborn Human Life website) about how each of us began our lives as unique human beings. A new human being is conceived when a sperm fertilizes an egg. The sperm has 23 chromosomes and so does the egg. But the fertilized egg has 46, half from each parent, and is genetically unique. These 46 chromosomes, which are fixed at conception, establish the child's sex and are a blueprint for how it will develop, both during pregnancy and after birth.

Blood vessels start to form very early, about 13-18 days after fertilization. Then, on about the 20th day - nearly the end of the third week - the foundation of the brain, the spinal cord, and the entire nervous system is established. The heart begins to beat on about the 22nd day after conception, circulating blood throughout the child. The arms begin to form on about day 26, followed by the beginnings of the legs on day 28, the same day that the mouth opens for the first time.

Both the eyes and ears are developing rapidly during the seventh week after conception. At this time, the thumbs, neck, heels of the feet and all of the fingers are also present. Taste buds begin to form during the eighth week after conception. All parts of the limbs are apparent at this time. In addition, the fingers and toes have lengthened and are completely separated.

By the end of the eighth week the overwhelming majority (several thousand) of the body's organs, structures and systems have already begun to develop. Few, if any, new structures begin to form after this time. During the remainder of the pregnancy, development consists mainly of growth and maturation of the parts of the body that are already present.

Isolated arm, leg and backward head movements begin at about 7 to 10 weeks after conception. During the ninth week, a regular pattern of breathing movements is observed, with a median frequency of about 30 breaths each hour.

These are just the highlights of how you developed during the first 2-3 months of your life. Now consider that a majority of abortions are performed during the tenth to twelfth week of gestation. Some are performed much later in the pregnancy, when the child has grown larger and any unbiased observer would recognize a baby when they see one.

So why if the evidence so clearly indicates that a unique human life begins at conception, how did the deliberate and violent destruction of that life come to be imposed as a 'constitutional right'? Time does not permit describing the whole history of abortion or the intertwining influences of the eugenics and population control movements. Let's start with the socially turbulent late sixties when a growing pro-abortion movement subversively exploited the legitimate aspirations of women for greater rights and participation in society.

The late Dr. Bernard Nathanson, former abortionist and co-founder of the pro-abortion group NARAL, since changed his mind and heart and became a leading prolife advocate. He points out the disinformation at the heart of the pro-abortion campaign.

- "The statistics that we gave to the American public about illegal abortions annually; the statistics we fabricated regarding the number of women dying from illegal abortions annually; all of these matters were pure fabrication and still persist to this very day."

- "We spoke of 5,000 to 10,000 deaths a year. I confess that I knew the figures were totally false. It was a useful figure, widely accepted, so why go out of our way to correct it with honest statistics?"

- "We in NARAL were in the business of coining slogans principally for the media . . . we scattered catchy slogans for them . . . to use . . . in their stories. Slogans like "reproductive rights", "freedom of choice", "pro-choice". For many years we've known them to be hollow and meaningless. They're just catchy and, essentially, without substance."

The movement made rapid progress. California, New York and a few other states passed 'liberalized' abortion laws (though some other states rejected them). But what imposed abortion on American law were two Supreme Court cases, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, pronounced on January 22, 1973. The combined effect of the two decisions was to effectively impose abortion-on-demand throughout the nine months of pregnancy. Since that time, over fifty million human beings have been exterminated by abortion in the United States.

Aside from the grave issue that was decided, the finding that abortion is part of a constitutional 'right of privacy' is considered an overreach of judicial power even by some legal scholars who describe themselves as 'prochoice'. The 'reasoning' was based on 'penumbras' the justices claim to have seen in the constitution.

Did you know that the two plaintiffs in the Roe and Doe cases, Norma McCorvey and Sandra Cano, have filed affidavits to the effect that they were manipulated into their roles and that the decisions should be overturned? You would think that this development would be considered unprecedented in Supreme Court history, but I guess Chris Matthews, Katie Couric, the New York Times, etc. forgot to inform you.

One fact that is becoming evident that abortion-on-demand is not such a great thing for women. Abortion has left many women emotionally and sometimes physically scarred. Campaigns such as Silent No More and Women Deserve Better are tapping into this hidden anguish.

Also evident is the effect on our society, with conflicting attitudes on how we treat not only the unborn, but also the sick, disabled and elderly. Consider the heart wrenching case of the judicially imposed death of Terri Schindler-Schiavo in 2005. Abortion has torn marriages and families apart, and led to a hardened and increasingly violent culture. The raging debate over embryonic stem cell research and human cloning shows the growing risk posed by a disregard for the dignity of every human life.

So, we have had for the past thirty eight years, a culture that in some ways has grown cynical, forgoing the promise of a hopeful future for instant gratification, or more often, the resignation to unimaginative 'solutions' that pit mother against child or people against the planet. One is reminded of a quote from the great Irish poet William Butler Yeats:

"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed and everywhere a ceremony of innocence was drowned."

These Supreme Court abortion decisions were assumed to have 'settled' the issue in our society. Yet much to the consternation of the pro-abortion establishment, the movement of concerned citizens to protect life has only grown in strength over the past thirty nine years. The prolife movement has pursued multiple paths: educating the public, lobbying and litigating for change, participating in politics, and especially reaching out to help women with unplanned pregnancies. On the political front, abortion Continues to play a pivotal role in the debate over health care and other public legislation. Polling data consistently indicates that, even when economic or other issues determine the outcome of an election, those voters that consider abortion decisive in their voting swing overwhelmingly for the prolife candidates. Presidents, economic cycles and other national controversies come and go, but the struggle for life goes on.

Particularly significant is that the change in public attitudes on abortion is most striking among young people (who've lost peers they've never met). This is manifested in polling results and an upsurge of prolife activism among teens, college students, and new media savvy activists who are exposing the dark side of the abortion industry. This is much to the consternation of their professors and, in some cases, their parents. Sort of adds a new twist to some lyrics from the sixties by Buffalo Springfield:

"Young people speaking their minds, Getting so much resistance from behind."

So the buses are starting to roll, as thousands from distant states once again journey to Washington, where many will gather in prayer the night before or the morning of the March. Then we will rally and march, knowing that those we are trying to defend would some day defend our nation, write great literature, cure disease, compose stirring music, and explore and begin to settle the Solar System.

But more than for their potential accomplishments, we speak out for them simply because of the inherent dignity of each of their lives. In so doing we are responding to a great calling as individuals and as a civilization. And we'll continue to speak and march and work and pray, confident in the hope that, one of these years, we'll no longer face the cold winds. Instead, we'll gather on a warm spring day to celebrate the inclusion of the youngest in the human family within the protection of the law.

South Carolina Picks Newt!

2012-01-21T19:43:00.003-05:00

Newt Gingrich has been declared the winner of the South Carolina primary. This makes one each for Romney, Gingrich and Santorum. The campaign now heads to Florida for its Jan. 31 primary.

Innovative Ways to Explore Space

2012-01-14T22:59:00.004-05:00

NASA

Some key planners in NASA and industry are looking at some unconventional ways to enable NASA to again move out beyond Earth orbit in spite of constrained budgets.

"In the current budget environment, we are taking the view that we can resume human space exploration beyond LEO now … with the systems that we have … or continue to wait for the lengthy development of systems that we wish we had," said Harley Thronson, senior scientist for advanced concepts at the Astrophysics Science Division of NASA Goddard’s Science and Exploration Directorate.

ProLifeCon!

2012-01-14T21:40:00.003-05:00

The annual ProLifeCon will be held in Washington, DC on the morning of the March for Life (this year on Monday, Jan. 23). Originally known as Blogs for Life, the conference was renamed last year in recognition of the growing array of social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) being used for the cause of life. I've just registered and look forward to this gathering of prolife new media activists.

This conference is one of many exciting prolife events occurring in and around DC in conjunction with the annual march.

Here It Comes for 2012: The Circus on the Severn!

2012-01-11T14:09:00.003-05:00

The Maryland General Assembly opens its 90-day session today, dealing with contentious issues from possible tax increases and new regulations to same-sex marriage.

New Hampshire Primary Results

2012-01-11T10:03:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's New Hampshire Primary provided a good night for Mitt Romney, though it doesn't seem to have eliminated any of his competitors. It will be interesting to see how the race plays out in South Carolina, with it's more conservative, Republican-only primary voters.

The Thrilla in Iowa

2012-01-04T22:00:00.003-05:00

The Iowa Caucuses (or "Hawkeye Cauci", as Rush calls them) ended in a photo-finish, with Mitt Romney topping Rick Santorum by only 8 votes! Ron Paul came in at a strong third. After many months of pregame activities, things will now happen quickly over the coming weeks & months, starting in New Hampshire next week.

While we have several strong candidates, I'm feeling a little vindicated this morning. At our county GOP convention a year ago in the first straw poll I participated in for this cycle, I picked Rick Santorum. I've admired Santorum for his strong prolife stand while holding strong and articulate positions over a range of social, economic and national security/foreign policy issues. Whoever the GOP nominates, it's time for a change from that "Hope & Change" thing from the last time around.

New Year at the Moon

2012-01-02T13:55:00.004-05:00

Using a precision formation-flying technique, the twin GRAIL spacecraft will map the moon's gravity field, as depicted in this artist's rendering. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The NASA GRAIL mission, which was launched last September, has arrived at the Moon. GRAIL-A arrived on New Years Eve, while GRAIL-B arrived a day later, in the new year. The mission is designed to map the interior of the Moon to gain knowledge of its origin and structure.

The Years Turns

2011-12-31T13:17:00.007-05:00

As we complete another year, that measure of our shared trip around the Solar System together, we look back on another one that once again seems to outdo the previous years in total strangeness, though there are always signs of hope.

In the Middle East and North Africa, is it an "Arab Spring" or a new terrible Dark Age? On the first day in May, a beloved Pope is elevated closer to sainthood while the world's most notorious terrorist leader meets his violent end.

Economic uncertainty and unemployment and the ongoing conflicts about protection of human life and other fundamental cultural issues persisted through 2011 and will continue into 2012.

While there have been many pleasant days to remember, there was an earthquake, hurricane and heavy rains from a former hurricane all within a couple of weeks along the Mid-Atlantic coast. More destructive forces struck in the form of tornadoes in the Southern and Midwestern US, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and flooding in other parts of the world along with ongoing drought and famine in East Africa.

Off-planet, new worlds being uncovered, particularly by the Kepler mission, are becoming more common and more varied. The Space Shuttle era came to a nostalgic end with its final successful missions to the International Space Station, which will carry on with the assistance of an emerging commercial space sector that will likely become more prominent in 2012.

The race for the GOP presidential nomination has been the most topsy-turvy campaign that I can remember, with front-runners rising and falling almost by the month as the strengths and weaknesses of each are assessed. There's a lot of angst among the voters as many yearn for a redo on that "Hope & Change" thing from the last time around.

So be safe and happy as we enter a new year. And with God's blessing, let's get ready for an exciting 2012 as another opportunity to advance a culture of life, a new birth of freedom and an expanding frontier.

Have a Holy and Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T22:48:00.001-05:00

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2:1-14

Two Christmas Favorites

2011-12-23T22:21:00.001-05:00

Here are two stirringly beautiful Christmas music videos by Enya and Trans-Siberian Orchestra I've posted the last couple of years and would like to share again.

Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Canon

shadow | MySpace Video

Soyuz Launches Crew to ISS

2011-12-21T23:25:00.005-05:00

Image Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

A Soyuz spacecraft was launched today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying three more crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS will be back to a full crew of six which will carry out new activities including commercial cargo delivery demonstrations in the new year.

The launch occurred on the 43rd anniversary of the launch of Apollo 8. While now often thought of a mainly a precursor to the Apollo 11 landing the following summer, Apollo 8 was an epic voyage in itself as it was the first time humans had left the immediate vicinity of Earth to approach and orbit the Moon for the first time. This first visit to the Moon at Christmas time 1968 was a particularly memorable event.

NASA Science: New Discovery and New Boss

2011-12-20T22:05:00.003-05:00

Scientists with NASA's Kepler mission today announced the confirmation of the discovery of two Earth-sized planets around another star. However, the two exoplanets are too close to their sun to be hospitable to life (as we know it anyway).

Meanwhile, the new head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate has plenty of "hands-on" experience in repairing and upgrading scientific spacecraft in orbit. Former astronaut John Grunsfeld helped to service the Hubble Space Telescope on three different Shuttle missions.

Hanukkah and Our Attitude about the Future

2011-12-20T21:38:00.001-05:00

(This is a post I originally made in 2003 and feel is worth repeating each year, especially in light of some very dark anti-human views of the future vs. ongoing and emerging developments that can provide resources for future generations.)

Rabbi Daniel Lapin has a provocative column in WorldNetDaily on a message of Hanukkah that is relevant to people of all faiths. He shows examples, ancient and modern, of how a pessimistic Malthusian worldview has been repeatedly disproved by the Creator's providence of material resources and the ingenuity to utilize them to provide for the future. Rabbi Lapin says:

It only seemed that we lacked sufficient copper, whale oil or wood. In reality, our God-given ingenuity developed exciting new technology that eliminated our need for each commodity just as it was becoming scarce.

Hanukkah's miracle was that, day after day, the Temple's menorah just kept on burning in spite of an apparent shortage of fuel - a metaphor, surely, for all apparent shortages that can be overcome with faith. Hanukkah invites us all to express gratitude to the Creator whose beneficence is boundless. It stimulates discussions that can spur our spiritual growth. It reminds us that with His gift of creativity, challenges become optimistic opportunities to partner with God in creatively solving all material shortage.

Commercial Space Developments Gaining Speed

2011-12-14T21:23:00.004-05:00

A team of major space industry players announced yesterday that they are developing a new launch system that would launch cargo and eventually people from what will be the world's largest aircraft. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is financing the innovative Stratolaunch space transportation venture, which has the potential of helping to lower launch costs. Here is a video of how a launch would be carried out.

Meanwhile, another commercial launch vehicle has taken on a new name, the Antares. This vehicle will see its first test launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport possibly as early as February 2012.

Last Night's Debate: Context on Lunar Mining and Commercial Space

2011-12-11T15:52:00.012-05:00

NASA, Artist concept by Denise Watt

In a curious exchange in last night's GOP presidential debate, Mitt Romney attacked Newt Gingrich's previously stated position favoring the enabling of a lunar mining industry. Gingrich strongly defended his position in a general way (as Romney brought up multiple issues in one statement).

A video clip of that portion of the debate is linked here.

For many politically minded viewers, the topic of lunar mining must have seemed a rather curious topic to come up in a presidential debate. However, among a community of entrepreneurs, scientists and space planners, the potential use of resources from the Moon and other celestial bodies is a very real possibility.

Evidence going back to the soil samples brought back by the Apollo astronauts to data obtained from robotic probes recently sent by the US and other nations indicate the presence of useful resources on and in the Moon. Evidence of significant amounts of lunar water (in the form of ice) has been detected in recent years. Lunar scientist Paul Spudis envisions a plan to extract this water and break it down into its constituents hydrogen and oxygen to provide fuel for propelling vital space assets.

By having a system where the vehicles are refueled from the resources extracted on the Moon, a system is created that routinely accesses the Moon and allows for returning to Earth, but all the other points in between can be accessed as well.

"We create a transportation system that accesses all those points between Earth and Moon. The significance of that is, much of our satellite assets reside there," said Spudis, "for example communication satellites and weather monitoring satellites reside in geosynchronous orbit, (about 36,000 km above the Earth’s equator) and right now we cannot reach that from low Earth orbit. If we have system that can routinely go back and forth to the Moon, we could also go to these high orbits where a lot of commercial and national security assets are."

Other experts describe resources on the Moon that could help America and the world access new energy sources. Perhaps most significantly, President George W. Bush's science adviser, the late John Marburger, saw the Moon and other bodies in the Solar System as a part of our economic sphere.

As I see it, questions about the vision boil down to whether we want to incorporate the Solar System in our economic sphere, or not. Our national policy, declared by President Bush and endorsed by Congress last December in the NASA authorization act, affirms that, "The fundamental goal of this vision is to advance U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests through a robust space exploration program." So at least for now the question has been decided in the affirmative.

Gingrich's ideas for creating incentives for commercial space activities include tax breaks and prizes, but do not appear to include corporate preferences such as Solyndra-style loan guarantees. (Gingrich's space policy proposals are seen as too radical by some in the space industry, but that is another whole discussion.)

I hope that Gingrich will have the opportunity to further explain his space policy proposals during the campaign and I hope that Romney and the other candidates will take the time to become more informed on this area.

Along with tax reduction and simplification and regulatory reform, enabling new industries including commercial space is an integral part of a pro-growth agenda. The national security implications of space leadership can not be ignored. And human expansion into and development of space can also contribute to a culture of life by providing resources for future generations (as opposed to posing threats to life and liberty by dealing with supposed resource shortages through "population control").

More Discoveries of Planets around Other Stars

2011-12-07T10:10:00.003-05:00

Image credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

More progress announced this week of the Kepler mission's discoveries of candidate exoplanets (planets that orbit stars other than our sun). One of these, Kepler-22b, is in the "habitable zone", where temperatures would allow the presence of liquid water, enhancing the possibility of life existing there.

Here are the NASA web article and additional links from SpaceToday.net.

2,000 for Life in Germantown, MD

2011-12-05T23:16:00.012-05:00

An estimated 2,000 people participated in a large, peaceful vigil this morning marking the first anniversary of Leroy Carhart's notorious late term abortion practice in Germantown, MD. Here are a few pictures I took at the event.

An important link for life

Prayerful participants line Wisteria Drive outside the office park where Carhart's facility is located.

Some of the ~720 crosses representing each of the unborn babies killed here in the past year (and an equal number of women brutalized by the procedures)

This picture speaks for itself.

And here are video highlights. (Please pardon my unsteady hand. If the shaky video gets on your nerves, just minimize the video and listen to the powerful words and singing.)

Participants sing "How Great Thou Art" and "Amazing Grace"

Dr. Grace Morrison introduces the vigil program and Rev. Charlie Baile leads a prayer.

Dr. Grace Morrison goes on to eloquently describe the grim situation and the purpose and importance of the vigil.

Rev. Marcel Guarnizo describes a stark historical perspective to what happens in Germantown, MD.

Advent 2011

2011-11-27T22:26:00.003-05:00

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, a time of preparation for the coming celebration of our Savior's coming at Christmas. To mark the beginning of this season, here is a video (~23 min) of a group from Christendom College singing on the Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome. (Thanks to RealCatholicTV.)

Curiosity Heads to Mars

2011-11-27T21:59:00.008-05:00

Photo Credit: NASA

The Curiosity/Mars Science Laboratory was launched yesterday. Curiosity is the most sophisticated robotic probe ever sent to Mars to look for evidence of conditions favorable for the existence of life there. The Atlas V launch was provided by United Launch Alliance, a commercial launch provider whose customers include NASA and other US gov't agencies.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T22:07:00.003-05:00

A special day set aside in our nation to give thanks to God for all His gifts to us.

Thanksgiving has a long history in our country, but the theme of giving thanks goes much further back in history, as recorded in the Bible.

Have a good time with family and friends and don't eat any more than I would. ;-)

Circus on the Severn Wreaks Havoc Out of Season

2011-10-19T17:54:00.005-04:00

The Maryland General Assembly is meeting in special session this week and it looks like it has approved Gov. O'Malley's extremely gerrymandered Congressional redistricting plan. If this plan is actually implemented, it looks like I will be in one strand of a district that resembles a dissected amoeba.

I'm Back

2011-10-17T22:16:00.009-04:00

It's been a month since I've last posted here. I've downloaded Mozilla Firefox and am using it to get around a couple of glitches between IE and Blogger that complicate publishing and updating posts.

A lot of serious stuff has been going on since I've last blogged. There was the thwarted attack by Iran on Washington, DC and the Occupy Wall Street or whatever demonstrations that have been chaotic in message and sometimes offensive and even destructive in practice, especially as they've spread to other nations. (A particularly disturbing example here)

So let's look at a happier event that occurred today, the dedication of the new spaceport terminal in New Mexico. (Clark Lindsey provides multiple links here.) Here is a video of part of the dedication ceremony with the theatrical flare Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson is known for

and one portraying VG's space tourism services.

MD Renaissance Festival

2011-09-18T21:35:00.003-04:00

Today was pleasantly cool, so I really enjoyed my day of food, drink and music at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Cold War 'Big Bird' Comes Out Of Hiding

2011-09-17T23:33:00.002-04:00

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) declassified two cold war era reconnaissance satellites this week. One of these, the KH-9 Hexagon (sometimes nick-named for the Sesame Street character 'Big Bird'), was put on display today at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar Hazy Center in Dulles, VA for one day only. I drove over for this rare opportunity and took pictures, a few of which are posted below.

These satellites were highly classified during the cold war and played a hidden but decisive role in providing information that helped preserve the free world and that was possibly critical in averting a nuclear war during those perilous times.

In Remembrance of September 11, 2001, 10 Years Later

2011-09-10T22:35:00.003-04:00

U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael W. Pendergrass

Ten years ago tomorrow morning, I overheard a coworker down the hall from my office telling someone else about planes hitting the World Trade Center. I checked in on the Internet and on news radio for reports on what would develop into the the modern era's day of infamy. We know of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but there was also the attack that did not occur because of the heroic actions of the passengers on United Flight 93.

Ten years of daily living, along with increasing domestic rancor, may have dimmed the feelings of shock, horror, and outrage and the response of prayer, compassion, and resolve that united the people of America and most of the world. However, terrorist activity around the world should serve to remind us that the threat is still real.

This tenth anniversary has stirred abundant remembrance and reflection and many stirring pictorial and video items have appeared on the web and on Facebook. I still find this audio/visual Internet presentation developed by a New Yorker shortly after the attacks as one of the most powerful portrayals of those times. The sequence is ~15 minutes long and some of the images and sounds are quite disturbing, others are inspirational. Use the browser View/Zoom function and adjust the scroll bar to enlarge the slide show.

It is important that we remember, not only to honor those who died and those who acted heroically that day, but to remain constantly aware of the ongoing dangers, of the presence of real evil in the hearts of some men, and to maintain constant vigilance and a determination to defeat this evil. Finally, we must always remember to trust in God and his mercy during trying times. The story of the cross formed by two beams found among the ruins of the twin towers is recounted here.

GRAIL Off to the Moon

2011-09-10T22:26:00.004-04:00

Photo credit: NASA/Kenny Allen

NASA's GRAIL mission, using a pair of robotic spacecraft to investigate properties of the Moon, was launched this morning from Florida.

Irene Coming

2011-08-26T22:47:00.005-04:00

Well, first there was an earthquake around here on Tuesday and now Hurricane Irene is heading up the coast. Gonna be an interesting weekend. Be safe.

World Youth Day 2011

2011-08-18T23:01:00.000-04:00

Up to a million pilgrims are expected to join Pope Benedict XVI in Madrid for World Youth Day 2011 now occurring to energize the world's young people for Christ. (Despite the title, it is actually a several day event.)

Here is the official web site. The site has been subject to hacking attempts, showing that some are afraid of the spiritual power of this event. WYD is also being covered by EWTN and by Fr. Robert Barron's Word on Fire blog.

On to Jupiter!

2011-08-05T22:45:00.000-04:00

Photo Credit: Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- NASA

The NASA Juno spacecraft was launched today on its mission to orbit and investigate the planet Jupiter.

Summer of Mercy 2.0

2011-08-02T22:22:00.002-04:00

The presence of a late term abortionist has reinvigorated the prolife movement in the normally liberal Maryland suburbs of DC. For more background and information on what is happening this week, please see the Summer of Mercy 2.0 web site.

Debt Clash Resolved (For Now)

2011-08-02T21:21:00.004-04:00

After weeks and months of fierce debate, national debt limit was raised today when President Obama signed the bill agreed to by the House and Senate. There are a range of opinions among conservatives as to whether this was a wise agreement (and perhaps even greater angst among liberals).

My take is that it is far from perfect but that we have begun to "turn the tanker" around to a more sensible direction, even as some of the crew and the captain are resisting the turn. The need is to pick up more crew members and a captain willing to make the turn in November 2012.

Meanwhile, regardless of the debt limit deal, today's stock market tumble indicates serious problems with the economy. Challenging times ahead.

2011-07-28T19:41:00.000-04:00

I'm not attending the NewSpace 2011 conference in person this year, but I am following the sessions via webcast at Spacevidcast. Also, here is the conference Twitter feed.

It's Been Quite a Ride!

2011-07-21T21:01:00.002-04:00

The Space Shuttle Program concluded this morning with the safe landing of Atlantis in Florida. The occasion was observed in various ways. At Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, a group picture was taken to include all those who had any involvement in the Space Shuttle Program during their careers. (I've been involved with Shuttle payload missions during much of my career.)

While it is a day for emotion and nostalgia, it is not a time for despair but a time for renewed determination to bring to reality the potential for more engagement of the commercial space sector while gaining more definition and commitment for NASAs role in leading human exploration beyond Earth orbit.

Anniversary Day

2011-07-20T19:04:00.001-04:00

NASA

Today is the 42nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 pioneering expedition to the lunar surface, the day human beings first made landfall on another world. Check out Rand Simberg's ceremonial commemoration of that epic voyage. Also, Clark Lindsey has several links, including this poetic video piece by Rick Tumlinson.

Today is also the eighth anniversary ('blogiversary') of the launch of this humble blog. Here is the inaugural post (Note that I was too inexperienced to think of giving it a title.) on Life at the Frontier.

Dawn at Vesta

2011-07-19T21:40:00.003-04:00

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

NASAs Dawn spacecraft has entered orbit around the large main belt asteroid Vesta. Continuing updates on this mission can be found on the Dawn mission web site.

Atlantis Departs Station for Home

2011-07-19T21:30:00.003-04:00

The last Space Shuttle to visit the International Space Station (ISS) departed for home early this morning. Atlantis is scheduled to land in Florida on Thursday morning.

As It Happened, the Apollo 11 Launch

2011-07-16T08:26:00.001-04:00

Today is the 42nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to land the first men on the Moon. Here is a (10 min) video of the final minutes of the countdown and the first few minutes of flight. Relive the moment, or experience it for the first time.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

2011-07-13T23:05:00.001-04:00

Spacewalker Mike Fossum rides on the International Space Station's robotic arm as he carries the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment. This the final scheduled spacewalk during a shuttle mission. Image Credit: NASA

In the final spacewalk to occur during a Space Shuttle flight, the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) payload was transferred by astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Also, a faulty Pump Module was installed on the Shuttle for return to Earth. Inside, Shuttle and Station crews are continuing transfers of cargo to and from the ISS before the Shuttle departs for home this weekend.

Grand Finale Launch for Atlantis

2011-07-08T21:42:00.005-04:00

Shuttle Atlantis lofted into space today for the final launch of the Space Shuttle program. The launch drew one of the largest crowds in the history of the space program to the Central Florida Coast.

Turn up your speakers and set to full screen to take in the feeling of this historic launch.

There is abundant commentary around the 'net. Keith Cowing captures the emotion and impact of the event in this column.

I will wager that prior to today's launch, 90 percent - or more - of the people involved in NASA's human space flight program had not fully processed the blunt reality of what the end of shuttle operations really means. Between today and wheel stop in 12-13 day's time it will start to settle in.

People are being laid off. Others are retiring. Others will show up for work weeks or months from now, sense a sea change, and suddenly decide to depart. When all is said and done the agency will look much different. And I will wager that NASA itself has yet to grasp what this will means in terms of what it wants to do - and what it is able to do.

Transitions are never easy but this one was made more difficult than it had to be because of indecision and conflict at several levels of government. However there is the prospect of new ventures emerging over the next few years. Some of these are portrayed in this short video.

Go Atlantis!

2011-07-07T21:42:00.005-04:00

Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

Well, we're finally here, the night before the final launch of the Space Shuttle (putting aside the strong chance of a postponement due to weather). I've spent much of my career working on Space Shuttle payload missions, so it's hard to believe this is the final one. That doesn't mean that there's nothing ahead. The prospect of new commercial ventures taking people into orbit and NASA taking the lead in deep space exploration is still there, but will take some real creativity and daring in light of the financial and political challenges.

Anyway, the STS-135 mission includes a final major resupply of the International Space Station (ISS), providing additional margin until the commercial providers get their services up and running. Also on this flight is the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) (the project I've been working on for the past year and a half), which will demonstrate how current satellites may be refueled in the not-too-distant future.

Happy July Fourth!

2011-07-03T13:28:00.004-04:00

As we join in the festivities of the Fourth, let's strive to keep to the values proclaimed in the Declaration that make it worth celebrating.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Some additional thoughts from around the web remind us that "Freedom isn't Free", the significance of some words from the second stanza of America the Beautiful, and thoughts on the Stars and Stripes from a famous Catholic English writer.

Wow. Think about that line: "by whose stars we are illumined, and by whose stripes we are healed." Have you ever thought about your flag that way - so Christ-like? G. K. Chesterton did. It’s a stirring interpretation of America and its mission.

More "Progressive" versus Progress

2011-07-03T12:51:00.002-04:00

In a post last year, I link to a Michael Barone column defining the difference between the "progressive" agenda and authentic progress. In a recent column, Keith Fournier zeroes in on how this dichotomy is reflected in fantasy vs. objective reality views of some of the most fundamental issues of human existence.

What is really happening is a clash of worldviews, personal and corporate, which involves competing definitions of human freedom, human flourishing and truly human progress. The positions being espoused and lifestyles being affirmed as "progressive" by those using the term as a political label are anything but. They turn the clock back.

It is the promotion of faithful, monogamous marriage, family, authentic human freedom, the dignity of every human person - and the insistence that there are objective truths that can be known and unalienable rights that are endowed on all men and women - which have guided true progress in human history and always pave the future of real progress.

Night Launch at Wallops

2011-07-02T22:36:00.004-04:00

I had a nearly mini-vacation at Chincoteague: spectacular launch, sun, sand, surf, nature, good food and drink. Here's my video (~4 min) of the Minotaur rocket launch from the spaceport at Wallops Island on Wed., June 29 at 11:09 PM, taken ~3 mi. from the pad. (The rocket's exhaust is over-exposed. It actually appeared as a brilliant orange flame.)

Here is the SpaceToday.net summary of media reports on the launch and its mission for the Department of Defense. A professional launch video from NASA is below.

Space Policy and the Republican Debate

2011-06-14T21:45:00.003-04:00

A couple of interesting accounts of the brief space policy debate within the GOP prez debate last night from Jeff Foust and Rand Simberg. Both point out Newt Gingrich's longtime background in innovative space policy and also the context of the current space policy debate.

I think it was great to see a serious space question actually enter a major political debate. It was frustrating that CNN moderator John King was so eager to move on to other topics that he cut off Mitt Romney part way through his response and may have cut off responses from some of the other candidates who had not yet weighed in.

A New American Revolution

2011-06-13T20:41:00.005-04:00

My pace of blogging has slowed down recently (not for lack of material in current events), but tonight I can do a little while monitoring the Republican presidential debate on CNN (where one questioner actually instigated a short debate on the subject of space policy).

Andrew Klaven describes how the new revolution is taking place on the field of information.

Like the original minutemen, the current media fighters for liberty are a ragtag and eccentric bunch. Breitbart’s pugnacious, Beck’s emotional, Coulter’s ferocious and Limbaugh is approximately as brash and unapologetic as an atom bomb. The MSM - fronted by anchors as dapper and haughty and "civilized" as the British of 1776 - have sought to use these character traits to demonize the right’s messengers without ever confronting their message. They have tried to turn the very names of these media revolutionaries into obscenities in order to discourage anyone who might be tempted to give their arguments a chance.

It is particularly heartening that the media frenzy over the release of Sarah Palin's e-mails during her tenure as Alaska Governor only wound up making her look a lot better than the media itself.

Mrs Palin as a person has become so remote that it is hard to assess how much, if any, of that widely-held caricature has a basis in truth. The email release could mark the end of a chapter of what conservatives have termed "Palin Derangement Syndrome". Her enemies in the media appear to have overplayed their hand.

NewSpace Business Plan Competition

2011-06-13T20:38:00.003-04:00

The Space Frontier Foundation (SFF) announced today that additional prize money to be awarded to the top three businesses competing in its 2011 NewSpace Business Plan Competition. More details here.

Endeavour Home; Atlantis at Pad

2011-06-01T22:01:00.007-04:00

Photo credit: NASA/Kevin O'Connell

Photo credit: NASA/Terry Zaperach

Space Shuttle Endeavour returned home for the final time early this morning at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) while its sister ship Atlantis was being rolled out to the launch pad for the final Shuttle mission.

JFK Reached for the Moon, May 25, 1961

2011-05-24T22:56:00.006-04:00

Fifty years ago, on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed the US Congress on a number of urgent issues relating to the Cold War and the nation's economy. It was the final section on space, however, that put the speech in the history books with the famous call for a human landing on the Moon by the end of the decade.

The world is different fifty years later and there is spirited discussion among space advocates on how to further human expansion into space at this time. Clark Lindsey provides a round-up of commentary links.

I was a five year old at the time, too young to pay close attention to presidential speeches, but this one helped shape the exciting age I grew up in that inspired a passion and a career for me.

ISS & Endeavour Continue Mission

2011-05-24T22:43:00.004-04:00

While I was away at the ISDC in Huntsville, AL for a dew days, things were busy on the International Space Station (ISS). On Thursday, the primary cargo delivered by Shuttle Endeavour, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS, was installed on the ISS.

Saturday brought a special blessing to the Shuttle and ISS crews with a call from Pope Benedict XVI, who had a thoughtful discussion with the astronauts on the implications of space exploration.

For Endeavour: One More Time

2011-05-16T19:37:00.004-04:00

After a two and a half week delay, Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off on its final mission today, which is to deliver a major science payload and other supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).

MARS is Closer to Home than You Realize

2011-05-14T20:22:00.016-04:00

I took advantage of an exciting opportunity to join an AIAA tour on Friday of the NASA Wallops Island, VA facility, just south of Chincoteague. The facility includes the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), which launches small satellites into orbit and will soon be helping to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) with the Orbital Sciences Corporation's Taurus II rocket. MARS gives the Mid-Atlantic region its own "space coast". (Florida can't keep all of the fun to itself!)

Pad 0-A will see launches of the Taurus II rocket starting this fall. The water tower is over 300 ft. tall and stores water to be sprayed on the pad at launch to protect it from damage.

With the Atlantic Ocean in the background, the launch pad's base is surrounded by four tall lightning protection towers and four mounts that will spray water on the pad at launch to protect it from flame and vibration.

Pad 0-B will see its next launch this summer of a Minotaur rocket carrying a military satellite to orbit.

Taurus II boosters being prepared in the new Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF).

Fifty Years: Americans in Space

2011-05-05T19:20:00.004-04:00

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of America's first man in space. Alan Shepard flew for fifteen minutes in his Mercury capsule for the suborbital flight. Summary of media links at HobbySpace.

I was a five-year-old at the time and I remember watching the launch with my mom. It was part of the exciting age I grew up in that inspired a passion and a career for me.

Catholic Bloggers Meet in Rome

2011-05-05T18:41:00.004-04:00

A conference of Catholic bloggers was held this week at the Vatican where the role of bloggers in the Church was the theme of the discussion.

The Catholic Church needs active members who blog, but Catholic bloggers also need the church, especially to remind them of the virtue of charity needed in their writing, said participants at a Vatican meeting.

The meeting May 2 was sponsored by the pontifical councils for culture and for social communications.

Later, the bloggers retired to a more informal session at the Scholars Lounge, an Irish Pub in the heart of Rome.

History on a Sunday

2011-05-02T21:07:00.005-04:00

U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Michael W. Pendergrass

It was quite a Sunday, a day that began with the elevation of a saintly man and ended with the violent death of a man who lived by violence.

Credit for the efforts that culminated in yesterday's operation in Pakistan goes to two presidents and all those up and down the line of authority, but especially to our brave military forces, including those Navy SEALs who carried out the operation yesterday. As has been pointed out by several people, we need to remain vigilant as "the fight is not over".

We should always remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks and those who have died fighting these terrorist atrocities. This stirring multi-media Internet presentation was developed by a New Yorker shortly after the 9/11 attacks, recapturing all of those experiences. The sequence is ~15 minutes long and some of the images and sounds are quite disturbing, others are inspirational. You can use the browser View/Zoom function and adjust the scroll bar to enlarge the slide show if needed.

Endeavour Poised to Deliver High Value Science Payload

2011-04-28T21:33:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow's scheduled launch of Shuttle Endeavour on its final mission is laden with human interest stories. The recovering Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will be on hand to watch her husband, Mark Kelly, launch into space, joined also by the President and First Family. Finally, the crew will be blessed with a call from Pope Benedict XVI next week while joined with the on-orbit International Space Station (ISS) crew.

In the midst of all of this, it might be easy to overlook the exciting and possibly groundbreaking scientific payload that Endeavour will deliver to the ISS. The mission of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), which is designed to detect antimatter and hints of other exotic forms of matter, is described in these articles at the Washington Post and Cosmic Log (MSNBC).

Expose Planned Parenthood Web Site

2011-04-28T21:23:00.006-04:00

I've added the Expose Planned Parenthood site, established by a coalition of organizations to the prolife section of my sidebar. Meanwhile, I've removed the ticker I had linked to from that site (for now) as I've recently noticed it appears to have suffered a glitch which reset the counts, thus understating the number of abortions committed by and federal dollars spent on Planned Parenthood so far this year.

National Catholic Prayer Breakfast

2011-04-27T21:12:00.009-04:00

Prolife activist Lila Rose of Live Action addresses the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.

I attended the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast this morning in DC, which was quite an event. Featured speakers included His Excellency Bishop William Lori, of the Diocese of Bridgeport,CT, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, VA Gov. Bob McDonnell and prolife activist Lila Rose. The theme of the breakfast was the upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II.

Have a Blessed and Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T00:09:00.001-04:00

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

Holy Week 2011

2011-04-18T21:51:00.002-04:00

This week is the one considered Holy by many with a strong Faith in God. For Christians, it is the observance of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Easter Triduum as observed in the Catholic Church is described here. Yesterday, in his Palm Sunday homily, Pope Benedict XVI described the meaning of the observance.

"But what are we really doing when we join this procession as part of the throng which went up with Jesus to Jerusalem and hailed him as King of Israel? Is this anything more than a ritual, a quaint custom? Does it have anything to do with the reality of our life and our world? To answer this, we must first be clear about what Jesus himself wished to do and actually did."

This year, it also happens that tonight is the start of the Jewish observance of Passover, the celebration of the Jews' passing over to freedom from the bondage of slavery they suffered in Egypt. This event was a historical manifestation of God's power recognized by Jews and Christians alike.

May this week of Holy Days bring blessings and peace to all.

NASA Funds Four Commercial Proposals

2011-04-18T21:38:00.003-04:00

NASA today announced four winners of its CCDEV-2 round of funding to help commercial space ventures develop their systems to provide transportation of people to the International Space Station (ISS). Most intriguing will be to see what we learn about Blue Origin's space vehicle system. The company has been very secretive about their plans, but here is the description they submitted in their proposal to NASA.

Circus on the Severn Folds Its Tent for 2011

2011-04-13T22:30:00.003-04:00

The Maryland General Assembly, after its 90 day run, adjourned for the year on Monday night.. None too soon, considering the crazy (and sometimes taxing) things they passed or tried to pass.

Human Spaceflight Anniversaries

2011-04-11T22:31:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow, April 12 marks two significant anniversaries, the pioneering orbital flight of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961 and the first flight of the Space Shuttle with Columbia's first launch twenty years to the day later in 1981. There is already much respective reflection and pondering of the future in space across the media around the world, which is being tracked at Spacetoday.net. There is a good collection of reflections posted in this weeks additions to The Space Review. An online movie recalling Gagarin's flight, First Orbit, premiers tomorrow.

This video tells the story of Yuri Gagarin and the meaning of his flight.

Defunding Planned Parenthood on the Ground

2011-04-11T22:00:00.002-04:00

The agreement reached Friday night that averted a government shutdown did not include a defunding of Planned Parenthood in this year's budget (though it does defund abortions in DC). The decision by Republican leaders to drop the clause at this phase of the battle was a tactical decision that is being both defended and criticized by some in the prolife movement.

So what's the next phase of the battle? Well, the agreement does force Senate Majority Leader Reid to hold a debate and vote on the defunding measure on Thursday. Even if it does not pass, it will put every Senator on record as to whether they want to privatize Planned Parenthood or force the taxpayers to continue subsidizing the abortion industry.

Meanwhile the House will start fleshing out the details on next year's (FY 2012) budget following the outline of Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan's plan. As this will require asking citizens to make genuine sacrifices of some of the benefits of many government programs, it is a no-brainer that defunding PP should be at the top of the list.

Both of these steps will continue to engage grassroots prolife citizens to continue to fight for this needed legislative change. But if this doesn't happen, the grassroots "boots on the ground" will be engaged in the great struggle nest year to make some drastically needed personnel changes, particularly in the White House and in the Senate.

At the same time, I've been reminded by a good friend who is strongly committed to prayer, sidewalk-counseling and the 40 Days for Life campaign that many of us are already involved in a ground level campaign that can help defund Planned Parenthood even before our nation's leaders make the right decision. As she says it so well, "Let's Defund PP one client at a time through our prayers, our love and our presence!"

Shutdown Averted as Ryan Charts a Larger Course Change

2011-04-09T23:50:00.005-04:00

Congressional leaders reached an agreement on funding the federal government through the remainder of this fiscal year (ending Sept. 30). Meanwhile, on Tuesday, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan outlined his sweeping architecture on cutting spending and reforming taxes in FY2012 and future years in order to turn the nation away from its rush toward fiscal ruin. (Text of the plan is here.)

Ryan's plan, along with the debt ceiling limit issue are sure to ignite even more congressional fireworks with Democrats attacking the plan, sometimes with hysterical rhetoric, and some Congressional Republicans wanting to go further and faster.

SpaceX's Bigger Boost

2011-04-09T23:43:00.002-04:00

This past Tuesday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced details of his companies largest (maybe) planned space launch rocket, the Falcon Heavy. If this vehicle comes anywhere close to Musk's claims for cost and performance, it will bring about major changes to the space industry

40 Days for Life at Silver Spring, MD

2011-04-04T21:39:00.005-04:00

The 40 Days for Life campaign at Silver Spring held it's mid-point rally Saturday morning in front of the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Silver Spring, MD. This was a special event for me to try out my new cam-corder and to learn the ways of Windows Movie Maker and YouTube.

The first video contrasts the grim reality of Planned Parenthood's abortion business with the beauty of the Divine Mercy Chaplet sung by rally participants.

The second video shows some of the joyful singing of praise by the rally participants.

The third video shows the Forty Days for Life Campaign Director Shawn Carney addressing our local crowd. His presence was an exciting recognition of our local effort.

If you have trouble downloading any of the videos, go to the settings number in the lower right (e.g. 480p) and select a lower resolution setting.

For additional videos of this event, please see this Restore-DC-Catholicism post. To find out how to participate in 40 Days for Life near you, please check out the 40 Days for Life main web site.

MESSENGER Arrives to Orbit Mercury

2011-03-18T23:56:00.003-04:00

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft arrived at the planet Mercury on Thursday, this time to remain in orbit for the conduct of extended exploration of that planet. The probe was launched in 2004 and has already made three fly-bys of Mercury. The mission is being controlled by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory here in Maryland.

The above image was acquired during the second fly-by in October, 2008. Images from MESSENGER in orbit around Mercury should be available here after March 29.

Judicial Wisdom

2011-03-18T23:48:00.003-04:00

While judicial activism is a matter of serious concern in American politics, in some cases, judges have shown more sense than some legislative bodies. For instance, a law passed by the County Council here in Montgomery County, MD, forcing pregnancy counseling centers to post notices that could discourage women from using their services, was put on hold by a federal court while the law's constitutionality is contested in further court proceedings.

Not that this ruling or a similar ruling on a similar law in Baltimore stopped the NYC City Council and Mayor Bloomberg from enacting a similar folly in their city.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2011-03-16T21:41:00.005-04:00

Artist unknown, Link by Saints.SQPN.com

Thursday is March 17, St. Patrick's Day. Be blessed, safe, and happy however you are celebrating Ireland's patron saint.

Catholic Forum provides links to 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.

Also, here's an ad featuring the singing and music of Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers that those of us who remember watching the Apollo missions to the Moon will recall. (Gulf Oil sponsored NBC news coverage in that era.)

March Storm Forecast for Capitol Hill

2011-03-12T20:52:00.003-05:00

ProSpace's annual March Storm will have teams of citizens briefing Congressional offices Monday and Tuesday on innovative ways to spur the economic development of space. This year's agenda includes introduction of a major tax policy to spur new space industries and support for NASA's commercial crew & cargo to orbit programs.

Seismic Devastation

2011-03-12T20:36:00.003-05:00

The news and images from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan yesterday are so horrifying to witness. The tsunami waves traveled all the way across the Pacific to have a major impact on the US West Coast. Now there is also growing concern about the impact on two Japanese nuclear plants.

Here is a short list of some organizations providing assistance to the people in the devastated areas in Japan.

States Overturn Conventional Wisdom

2011-03-12T20:20:00.005-05:00

In Wisconsin this week, the stalemate over public employee unions, collective bargaining and state benefit expenditures was broken with the enactment of legislation that will allow that state to move forward in addressing its fiscal situation. Despite continuing passionate protests, the new law and similar legislation in other states will likely herald big changes not only in labor relations but in state and national politics.

Closer to home in Maryland, same sex marriage (SSM) proved too much even for the Circus on the Severn, where a SSM bill, deemed a slam-dunk a few weeks ago, was pulled when it was clear there were not enough delegates willing to support the radical alteration of marriage as practiced by societies for thousands of years. Opposition from the Catholic Church and many black evangelical churches helped to galvanize a strong grassroots movement that was effective in defeating this bill.

Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T22:02:00.004-05:00

Today is Ash Wednesday, marking start of the Lenten period of reflection and penance between now and Easter.Pope Benedict XVI marked the observance in Rome.

Wishing all Christians a "happy Lenten journey", Pope Benedict XVI said today that fasting, almsgiving and prayer are traditions for Lent because they are effective tools for conversion.

At his weekly general audience on Ash Wednesday, the Pope said Lent is a time "to accept Christ’s invitation to renew our baptismal commitments" to arrive at Easter in a new and stronger state.

One recent activity that has become aligned with Lent is the 40 Days for Life campaign, which organizes prayer vigils at local abortion facilities. I'll be participating in the event here in Silver Spring, MD.

Discovery Home To Stay

2011-03-09T21:50:00.003-05:00

NASA

Space Shuttle Discovery completed its final flight by landing safely in Florida today. The ship's permanent home will be an as yet unnamed museum. In the mean time, the end of Discovery's cosmic journey's is cause for much reflection in the space and general media.

The Times They Are A Changing!

2011-03-06T22:18:00.004-05:00

Kirsten Powers is most known for being a TV commentator who generally takes a liberal Democratic point-of-view. Thus she made some serious waves this week when she broke with the party line on the subject of Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood officials are allowed to believe whatever they want and to pursue whatever goals they choose. But their dishonesty in how they present their organization to the public, along with ignoring basic statistics about their area of expertise, makes you wonder what else they are hiding. It’s also hard to deny that they are at core a blindly ideological organization, not a run-of-the-mill charitable nonprofit.

Whatever you think of abortion rights, this is not the kind of organization that taxpayers should be funding.

One more hint that the end of the abortion culture may be closer than most people realize, as Peter Heck writes.

All this trickery, misdirection, obfuscation and corruption within the so-called "pro-choice" movement are causing an increasingly large number of Americans to reassess their position on the issue. That, coupled with a reinvigorated pro-life movement infused with a youthful energy and a refocused approach that addresses humanness rather than politics, convinces me that the day is fast approaching when our society finds the moral courage to end the killing.

Space Round-Up

2011-03-06T22:01:00.004-05:00

Discovery's crew boarded their Shuttle after a very productive stay. The ship departs from the International Space Station on Monday to return to Earth to stay (scheduled for Wednesday).

Two other launches took place in the past week, the unsuccessful Glory satellite launch and the apparently successful launch of the second USAF X37B robotic spaceplane.

Joyful Prolife "Flash Mob"

2011-02-28T21:40:00.007-05:00

Participants in a "Walk for Choice" demonstration were surprised to be joined by a buoyant prolife "flash mob" on Saturday in downtown Chicago. I like their initial entry into the plaza with the LOTR "Shire" theme. A striking example of how new media and a joyful positive approach can help bring about a much needed seismic cultural shift to our society.

Discovery Sets Sail One Final Time

2011-02-24T21:43:00.005-05:00

NASA

Space Shuttle Discovery launched this afternoon to deliver vital hardware and supplies to the International Space Station. This is the final flight planned for Discovery, which has been flying since 1984.

Are We on the Cusp of Something Big?

2011-02-18T22:49:00.005-05:00

Events have been moving increasingly fast recently, with so much going on that I have to let go of any thought of covering it all on this humble blog. But just to take a few of the events occurring in the nation and the world the past few weeks, are we on the cusp of some tectonic cultural shifts?

Take for example, the upheaval in Egypt and other countries where leaders who have ruled for decades are suddenly being turned out amidst mass demonstrations by many citizens of those countries. I don't think there have been so many near simultaneous changes in so many countries since the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in late 1989. Whether these changes lead to a new birth of freedom for people in that part of the world or to something more grim that could be trouble for all of us remains to be seen.

Closer to home, we see the Republican led House of Representatives making serious cuts in most federal programs in the Continuing Resolution for the balance of the fiscal year 2011. With Senate Democrats and President Obama likely to be opposed to many of the cuts, we could be headed for a government shutdown on March 4 if no agreement is reached. A shutdown did occur in 1995, which was perceived to have been damaging to the Republican Congress at that time. With the nation's deficit situation much more severe now and a whole different media environment, the political ramifications could point in a different direction, reversing the growth of government that has taken place for decades.

This battle is being played out more dramatically in Wisconsin and other states, where elected officials are confronting entrenched public employee unions with the dire fiscal consequences of continuing the generous benefit packages of the past. This may be the start of a confrontation between the left wing community organizing movement and the more conservative Tea Party movement over the direction our nation takes.

Finally, as part of the House budget actions, but worthy of being highlighted, is the passage of a measure defunding Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider. Planned Parenthood has managed to embed itself into our society with a "mainstream" image for decades, but that image is crumbling, and hopefully with it, the organization's destructive influence on our society. The defunding measure was sponsored by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), who gave a stirring keynote address at the Susan B. Anthony List Gala I attended on Wednesday evening.

In short, we may be on the verge of a cultural shift at least as profound as that of the sixties and seventies that changed our society and continues to influence cultural assumptions to this day. The new shift will not be a return to 1950s social norms, but it could reject some of the more negative influences of the shift that followed, leading to 21st century norms that hopefully will include more respect for life and liberty.

Comet Close-Up

2011-02-18T22:37:00.008-05:00

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

NASA's Stardust-NExT made a close approach to Comet Tempel 1 on Monday, providing spectacular images along with data to be analyzed.

Trillions with a T

2011-02-14T20:42:00.003-05:00

President Obama sent his $3.7 trillion FY2012 budget to Congress today, opening the next phase in the debate of how to deal with the nation's huge and mounting deficit situation. Republicans (and others)are saying that the budget does not contain nearly enough reductions to make a serious dent in the burgeoning deficit. With major cuts likely in the pending Continuing Resolution (CR) that will probably stand from March 4 through the rest of FY 2010, this budget story is going to be a wild ride.

The budget proposal for NASA is $18.7 billion, equivalent to the amount in last year's (FY2010) budget. Cuts in the current House CR proposal for FY2011 take this year's budget ~$300 million lower. Given the need to tackle the deficit, cuts in every program are unavoidable. The trick in an area like space, which has so much potential for spurring future economic growth, is to allocate the resources we have most effectively. The most significant way of doing this is to sustain the efforts currently underway to engage the private sector in a greater role in human expansion into space.

Hard choices will have to be made across federal, state and local budgets. While many budget reductions will be painful cuts in beneficial programs, some cuts will be a no-brainer, especially this one.

Commercial Space Developments

2011-02-11T23:49:00.002-05:00

This (~10 min) video describes the exciting developments occurring in commercial space activities that many people are barely aware of.

Change in Egypt

2011-02-11T23:44:00.003-05:00

People in Egypt are celebrating the departure of Hosni Mubarak from office as leader of that country. For now, the military is heading up a "transitional" government. Pray that today's events truly lead to a free and peaceful future for Egypt, and not in a darker direction where some forces there would go.

Ronald Reagan Centennial

2011-02-05T23:55:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow, February 6, would have been the 100th birthday of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan will be remembered in history for his role in ending the Cold War in favor of freedom over communism, for reviving the American economy with free enterprise oriented solutions, and for being the first US President during the dark abortion-on-demand era to take a strong stand in favor of life.

Here is the official Reagan Centennial web site, which contains tributes, multi-media resources, and information on events that will go on through this year.

I probably can't say much that hasn't already been said and an abundance of Reagan tributes and info are available. Quite a number of good articles and resources are currently available at National Review online.

Here's an excerpt (~ 4 min) of the 1964 speech (" a time for choosing") where Reagan initiated his involvement in national politics. The full version (~30 min) is here.

And here's an excerpt of one of President Reagan's 1980 debates with President Carter which includes one of Reagan's most famous quotes.

Another Evil Empire Crumbling?

2011-02-05T23:28:00.003-05:00

A fast pace of breaking news recently about revelations concerning Planned Parenthood (PP), the nation's largest abortion provider and a radical sexual revolution advocate. Recently came the release of the book Unplanned by Abby Johnson, a former PP center director in Texas who quit her job at PP and joined the prolife movement, a conversion she explains in the book.

Then, of course, there are the recent revelations by Live Action, which has in fact been revealing the dark side of PP for several years. The latest being the release of several videos of undercover visits to PP facilities by persons posing as a pimp and an underage girl from outside the US looking for assistance to deal with the consequences of illegal human trafficking without stopping the activity.

Further background is provided at this web site assembled by a coalition of prolife groups, where you can watch a replay of a Thursday night web cast (~ 73 min) explaining the situation and actions planned to deal with it.

The fact that these occurrences have occurred at several PP facilities indicates something more than the aberrant actions of one or two employees, but a mind set within that organization that seems to take any kind of sex anywhere, any time, as a given with a blindness to the consequences. For too long, Planned Parenthood has manage to embed itself into society pretending to be a "mainstream" organization. Now, with the combination of new media investigative journalism and a renewed determination on Capitol Hill to at least end taxpayer funding of PP, we can hope, pray and work for the curtailment of the PP world view's destructive impact on society.

Egypt in Upheaval

2011-02-04T21:59:00.004-05:00

In 1993, I went on a Holy Land pilgrimage that included both Israel and Egypt. Memories of Egypt, and Cairo in particular, came back in recent days with the upheaval after nearly thirty years of rule by Hosni Mubarak. (Here's a timeline of highlights of recent events.)

The events have generated mixed feelings with hope and prayer that the many Egyptians who truly aspire for more freedom (sort of an Egyptian Tea Party) prevail over the darker forces in play that might take Egypt into the most extreme form of Islam. This later outcome would be particularly threatening to Egypt's Christians and to the neighboring nation of Israel.

It's time to pray for the people of Egypt and their leaders to find a path to a more free and peaceful land. Also, for guidance for our own leaders as they figure out what role to play in this delicate situation.

Judge: Obamacare Unconstitutional

2011-02-04T21:43:00.003-05:00

A lot happening this week. On Monday, a U.S. district judge ruled that the health care law violates the Commerce Clause of the Constitution by requiring individuals to buy insurance. Twenty six states have taken legal action to stop Obamacare from being implemented. This case is headed to the Supreme Court.

If the Supremes don't outright overturn Obamacare, Congress may disassemble it. Either way, there's hope that this debacle can be thwarted.

Remembering Fallen Explorers

2011-01-28T23:38:00.011-05:00

NASA is observing the anniversaries of its human losses in spaceflight: Apollo 1 (forty four years ago yesterday), Challenger (twenty five years ago today), and Columbia (eight years ago next Tuesday, February 1).

Today's twenty fifth anniversary of the loss of the Challenger crew brought back particular memories of that day when I was working in California in support of operations of the primary payload mission. We'd gotten to meet some of the crew during preparations for that mission.

Clark Lindsey has some Challenger anniversary links. Below are videos of the launch as covered by CNN and of President Reagan's moving address from the Oval Office that day.

March for Life 2011

2011-01-28T21:23:00.027-05:00

It's been a hectic week including a couple of evenings without power due to a winter storm, but the big story this week is still the March for Life and it's not too late to blog about it. While no one officially counts crowds at these events in DC, there easily may have been several hundred thousand participants in town to stand for life.

Thousands pour onto Constitution Ave. and ascend Capitol Hill.

Sign depicts a famous mom nurturing her special needs child, while post abortive women declare they are silent no more.

A clear agenda priority is brought by citizens to Congress to deny taxpayers dollars to the abortion industry giant.

The threat of the abortion crisis is not just a US concern.

The diversity of the prolife movement on display in front of the Supreme Court. The Secular Prolife web site provides prolife info for those of any faith or no faith.

Events prior to the March included a Sunday prayer walk in Germantown, Maryland in opposition to the late term abortionist Leroy Carhart doing operations there.

A large crowd opposes Carhart's late term atrocities in Germantown, as a friend of mine displays the message of the prayer walk.

Sunday evening, I went to the always powerful (and packed) Vigil Mass at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and Monday morning before the March was the ProLifeCon social media conference.

Abby Johnson describes her book exposing Planned Parenthood while other advocates explain how to use social media to turn the tide for life.

Why We March

2011-01-22T00:15:00.004-05:00

This is a slightly revised and updated article I first wrote and posted in 2004 at this time.

Today, January 22, marks the 38th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court decisions which imposed abortion-on-demand in the United States. Once again, concerned citizens will gather on Monday, the 24th, for the annual March for Life, which in recent years has usually drawn more than an estimated 200,000 participants. Now, why do so many people consider it so important to take time on a weekday to come to Washington, DC at the coldest time of the year to make their voice heard on this matter?

Before I go on any further, I need to say a couple of things. First, nothing in this article is meant to condemn anyone who has had an abortion or has been involved in abortion in some way. Far from condemning those with an abortion in their past, the people in the prolife movement are about healing and forgiveness, and want it to be clear that there is hope after abortion. Post-abortion counseling can be found through many church denominations and pregnancy counseling centers.

And second, while the prolife movement consists largely of people with strong religious convictions who feel called by God to defend the defenseless, that doesn't make the protection of human life a narrow, religious issue. The facts that the defenseless exist and that they deserve protection in the human family can be persuasively advocated by non-religiously reasoned arguments.

First, let's start with a little scientific background (from the Science for Unborn Human Life website) about how each of us began our lives as unique human beings. A new human being is conceived when a sperm fertilizes an egg. The sperm has 23 chromosomes and so does the egg. But the fertilized egg has 46, half from each parent, and is genetically unique. These 46 chromosomes, which are fixed at conception, establish the child's sex and are a blueprint for how it will develop, both during pregnancy and after birth.

Blood vessels start to form very early, about 13-18 days after fertilization. Then, on about the 20th day - nearly the end of the third week - the foundation of the brain, the spinal cord, and the entire nervous system is established. The heart begins to beat on about the 22nd day after conception, circulating blood throughout the child. The arms begin to form on about day 26, followed by the beginnings of the legs on day 28, the same day that the mouth opens for the first time.

Both the eyes and ears are developing rapidly during the seventh week after conception. At this time, the thumbs, neck, heels of the feet and all of the fingers are also present. Taste buds begin to form during the eighth week after conception. All parts of the limbs are apparent at this time. In addition, the fingers and toes have lengthened and are completely separated.

By the end of the eighth week the overwhelming majority (several thousand) of the body's organs, structures and systems have already begun to develop. Few, if any, new structures begin to form after this time. During the remainder of the pregnancy, development consists mainly of growth and maturation of the parts of the body that are already present.

Isolated arm, leg and backward head movements begin at about 7 to 10 weeks after conception. During the ninth week, a regular pattern of breathing movements is observed, with a median frequency of about 30 breaths each hour.

These are just the highlights of how you developed during the first 2-3 months of your life. Now consider that a majority of abortions are performed during the tenth to twelfth week of gestation. Some are performed much later in the pregnancy, when the child has grown larger and any unbiased observer would recognize a baby when they see one.

So why if the evidence so clearly indicates that a unique human life begins at conception, how did the deliberate and violent destruction of that life come to be imposed as a 'constitutional right'? Time does not permit describing the whole history of abortion or the intertwining influences of the eugenics and population control movements. Let's start with the socially turbulent late sixties when a growing pro-abortion movement subversively exploited the legitimate aspirations of women for greater rights and participation in society.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson, former abortionist and co-founder of the pro-abortion group NARAL, has since changed his mind and heart and is now a leading prolife advocate. He points out the disinformation at the heart of the pro-abortion campaign.

- "The statistics that we gave to the American public about illegal abortions annually; the statistics we fabricated regarding the number of women dying from illegal abortions annually; all of these matters were pure fabrication and still persist to this very day."

- "We spoke of 5,000 to 10,000 deaths a year. I confess that I knew the figures were totally false. It was a useful figure, widely accepted, so why go out of our way to correct it with honest statistics?"

- "We in NARAL were in the business of coining slogans principally for the media . . . we scattered catchy slogans for them . . . to use . . . in their stories. Slogans like "reproductive rights", "freedom of choice", "pro-choice". For many years we've known them to be hollow and meaningless. They're just catchy and, essentially, without substance."

"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed and everywhere a ceremony of innocence was drowned."

These Supreme Court abortion decisions were assumed to have 'settled' the issue in our society. Yet much to the consternation of the pro-abortion establishment, the movement of concerned citizens to protect life has only grown in strength over the past thirty eight years. The prolife movement has pursued multiple paths: educating the public, lobbying and litigating for change, participating in politics, and especially reaching out to help women with unplanned pregnancies. On the political front, abortion Continues to play a pivotal role in the debate over health care and other public legislation. Polling data consistently indicates that, even when economic or other issues determine the outcome of an election, those voters that consider abortion decisive in their voting swing overwhelmingly for the prolife candidates. Presidents, economic cycles and other national controversies come and go, but the struggle for life goes on.

Particularly significant is that the change in public attitudes on abortion is most striking among young people (who've lost peers they've never met). This is manifested in polling results and an upsurge of prolife activism among teens and college students, much to the consternation of their professors and, in some cases, their parents. Sort of adds a new twist to some lyrics from the sixties by Buffalo Springfield:

"Young people speaking their minds, Getting so much resistance from behind."

MSNBC Comedy Show Abruptly Ends

2011-01-22T00:09:00.002-05:00

Well, I would occasionally turn on Keith Olbermann's show, which ended tonight, for comic relief, but could only stand to watch for a few minutes at a time.

House Votes for Repeal!

2011-01-19T21:14:00.004-05:00

The House of Representatives voted today to repeal the ObamaCare debacle. While it is seen as unlikely to pass the Senate (but not without a fight) or survive a presidential veto, the repeal measure is a crucial first step in an extended struggle over the future of health care in our country.

During today's debate, some Democrats engaged in some pretty hysterical rhetoric (prime examples here and here.). So much for all that civility we've been hearing about.

R. Sargent Shriver, RIP

2011-01-19T21:06:00.004-05:00

Sargent Shriver, who had a long and distinguished career of public service, passed away on Tuesday. According to LifeNews.com, he was the last prolife candidate (for VP) on a national Democratic ticket (in 1972).

Historic Words Inspired on the Spot

2011-01-16T22:44:00.007-05:00

Along with the usual tributes for this year's Martin Luther King Day, a column by Clarence B. Jones, who was tasked to draft Dr. King's speech to the 1963 civil rights march, reveals how the most famous words from that speech were inspired on the spot.

Martin was essentially reciting the opening suggestions I'd handed in the night before. This was strange, given the way he usually worked over the material Stanley and I provided. When he finished the promissory note analogy, he paused. And in that breach, something unexpected, historic and largely unheralded happened. Martin's favorite gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, who had performed earlier in the day, called to him from nearby: "Tell 'em about the dream, Martin, tell 'em about the dream!"

Disconnected Media

2011-01-16T22:35:00.006-05:00

Jonah Goldberg describes in a NY Post column how coverage of the Tucson shootings is just the latest example of how much of the conventional media are so totally out of touch with much of the American public and the rising grassroots movement.

And this is hardly an isolated incident. It’s understandable that journalists would want to set the national agenda by providing new information. That’s their job. But sometimes the press just won’t take no for an answer, when the public refuses to see events the same way. For instance, last summer the Times worked valiantly to cast the Ground Zero mosque controversy as a symptom of Islamophobia sweeping the nation, even though the data on anti-Muslim hate-crimes undercut the claim entirely. The press routinely floats the idea that the country needs a "frank" or "honest" "national conversation on race" but viciously punishes anybody who says something they don’t want to hear. It seems every week there’s another thumb-sucking seminar on public radio about how dismaying it is that the public doesn’t share the elite press’ global warming hysteria. Despite the fact that ObamaCare was persistently unpopular, it seemed news reports often focused on how the public didn’t understand what’s good for them. Last month, The Washington Post refused to print the results of its own poll, showing that ObamaCare was at an all-time low in popularity. And, right now newspapers are debating whether they should adopt "undocumented immigrant" instead of "illegal immigrant" not because the latter term is inaccurate but because they think their readers will fall for the subtle manipulation.

ProLifeCon!

2011-01-14T22:41:00.004-05:00

The annual Blogs for Life conference held in Washington, DC on the morning of the March for Life (this year on Monday, Jan. 24) has been renamed ProLifeCon in recognition of the growing array of social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) being used for the cause of life. I've just registered and look forward to this gathering of prolife new media activists.