Remembering Terri Schindler-Schiavo

Tomorrow, March 31, is the second anniversary of Terri Schiavo's cruel death by judicial fiat. Her brother, Bobby Schindler, writes on the meaning of her life and death to our society.

As hideous as it was, the truth is, long before Terri's case made headlines, the removal of basic care – food and water – was becoming commonplace. It continues to happen every day across our country oftentimes in cases, like Terri's, where the patient does not suffer from any life-threatening condition.

Much of the problem that exists stems from a blind acceptance of misinformation that has moved us from a firm belief in the sanctity of life to a "quality of life" mindset, which says that some lives are not worth living.

How those terrible days leading up to Terri's death were covered by this blog can be reviewed by looking at my March 2005 archive.

The Bigger Picture

The increasing tenseness of the latest Iranian hostage crisis makes very timely, Victor Davis Hanson's article explaining that U.S. Involvement in Iraq is not to blame for terrorism and violence in other parts of the world and that an arbitrary withdrawal will not make it go away.

Should a peace candidate win the American presidency in 2008, prompting the U.S. to pull out of Iraq before the democracy there is stabilized, in the short term we will save lives and money. But as the larger war continues after we withdraw, jihadists will still flock to the Sunni Triangle. Hamas and Hezbollah will still rocket Israel. Syria will still kill Lebanese reformers. Iran will still try to cheat its way to a nuclear bomb. Ayman al- Zawahiri will still broadcast his al Qaeda threats from safety in nuclear Pakistan. The oil-rich, illegitimate Gulf sheikdoms will still make secret concessions and bribe increasingly confident terrorists to leave them alone. And jihadists will still try to sneak into the United States to kill us.

Joe Lieberman Says No to Dems' Legislating on Iraq Strategy

Senator Joe Lieberman, the Independent Democrat from Connecticut, says the deadline that Congress wants to impose on the U.S. actions in Iraq is "arbitrary and inflexible".

Amazingly, however, just at the moment things are at last beginning to look up in Iraq, a narrow majority in Congress has decided that it's time to force our military to retreat. Rather than supporting Gen. Petraeus, they are threatening to strip him of the troops he says he needs and sabotage his strategy.

Joe Lieberman's independent streak (at least on national security issues) is a blessing to our country at this critical time.

Falcon Launch 'Partial Success'

The SpaceX Falcon 1 launch took place on Tuesday. SpaceX claimed 95% of the test's objectives were met even though the test payload did not achieve orbit. The next launch is to orbit an actual customer's satellite, the Defense Department's TacSat 1.

Ready to Rumble

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is set to launch its Falcon 1, version 2 launch vehicle possibly as soon as tomorrow from Kwajalein Island in the Pacific. The rocket has been upgraded since a failed launch attempt a year ago. A successful launch will be another milestone in the emerging commercial space industry.

I'll be out of town for a few days, but check here for updates including information on a launch time, a possible webcast, and the (hopefully successful) outcome.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!



Artist unknown, Link by Catholic Forum

Catholic Forum provides descriptions of St. Patrick here and here.

Saint Patrick's Breastplate

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort me and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

In the spirit of the holiday, check out LiveIreland.com for webcasts of Irish music and other media direct from Ireland.

Amazing Grace

Tonight I saw the movie Amazing Grace, which tells the story of William Wilberforce, the British MP who courageously led the fight to end the slave trade two centuries ago.

Wilberforce is an inspiration for those today who are fighting for the dignity of every human life against the appalling evils of abortion, embryo destruction, euthanasia, genocide, human trafficking, etc. A few blocks from the movie theatre in downtown Silver Spring where I saw the film is a Planned Parenthood abortion facility where I join others in prayer on the sidewalk on Saturday mornings, playing our small part in continuing Wilberforce's fight in today's society.

Taking the Hill

After today's training session, I'll be joining ~thirty volunteers tomorrow and Tuesday for this year's ProSpace March Storm Congressional briefings. This years agenda includes initiatives related to prizes, infrastructure, commercial transportation to the International Space Station (ISS), and focusing the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) on the goals beyond Earth orbit.

Iraq: Past and Future

Victor Davis Hanson writes at National Review Online, describing the mistakes made in executing the war in Iraq following the initial success in toppling Saddam Hussein's government, but argues that the outcome is not irrevocably lost.

But if we have an orphaned war that is dubbed lost, it nevertheless can still be won. None of our mistakes has been fatal; none is of a magnitude unprecedented in past wars; all have been cataloged; and few are now being repeated. We now understand the politics of our Iraqi odyssey, with all its triangulations, and the ruthlessness of our enemies.

Not arguments, rhetoric, pleading, or money right now can save the democracy in Iraq. The U.S. military alone, in the very little remaining time of this spring and summer, can give Iraqis the necessary window of security and confidence to govern and protect themselves, and thereby to allow the donors, peacekeepers, compromises, and conferences to follow.

By Jove!!


Jupiter's Little Red Spot Imaged by New Horizons Spacecraft
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

The New Horizons spacecraft flew by Jupiter early this morning, picking up a gravity assist on its way to Pluto-and-beyond.

This evening some friends and I (after a stop for Mexican food and margaritas just outside the Lab) attended a Planetary Society sponsored event at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the organization which built and is now controlling the pioneering spacecraft. We heard one of the leading mission scientists present the history of the project and the latest results and images from the flyby.

Astronaut Farmer: the Dream and the Reality

I saw the movie Astronaut Farmer starring Billy Bob Thorton and Virginia Madsen last night. While it would be easy to pick out some technical inaccuracies and a plot that strains credibility, I recommend it as a fun and inspiring movie (mostly family friendly, aside from a few instances of profanity).

The story of a Texas rancher who builds a rocket and spacecraft in his barn evokes a 'New Space' spirit while hearkening back to a very retro spaceship design. Here are reviews by Alan Boyle and Rob Pearlman.

The idea of a non-governmental effort to put humans into space has already come to reality, at least at the level of suborbital spaceflight, with the 2004 flights of SpaceShipOne. And private enterprise space travel may soon be reaching much further, as described by this article in this week's Time magazine.

Ash Wednesday

Today marks the start of the holy season of Lent, leading up to the joyous feast of Easter. Here is Pope Benedict XVI's Lenten message.

May Lent be for every Christian a renewed experience of God's love given to us in Christ, a love that each day we, in turn, must "regive" to our neighbor, especially to the one who suffers most and is in need. Only in this way will we be able to participate fully in the joy of Easter.

Also, here is a list of Lenten links from the Anchoress (Hat tip: Kathryn Jean Lopez).

Too Much, Too Soon

When a political wonk like Karl Rove says the 2008 presidential campaign is getting revved up way too early for the candidates' own good, you know that things are getting out of hand.

"I think it is going to mean that people develop a persona earlier and wear out their welcome earlier than they would," he told The Politico in an interview. "I think there's going to come some point this year where people are going to basically be saying: 'I'm largely disinterested in the contest.' "

Believers, Deniers, and Skeptics

Ellen Goodman is sure about human activity causing warming of the global climate, and what she thinks of those who don't necessarily agree with her.

I would like to say we're at a point where global warming is impossible to deny. Let's just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers, though one denies the past and the other denies the present and future.

But Mark Steyn, in his witty way, describes some of the various scientific studies being published that draw a range of conclusions regarding the climate question, going beyond the over-simplification of the Media echo-chamber.

Are you thinking maybe it's time to turn over the page to the Anna Nicole Smith "A life in pictures" double spread? Well, that's my point. Most of us aren't reading the science, or even a precis of the science. We're just reading a constant din from the press that "the science is settled," and therefore we no longer need to think about it: The thinking has been done for us. Last week's U.N. IPCC "report," for example, is not the report, but a political summary thereof.

As I've said in an earlier post, scientific climate study must be vigorously pursued and developing alternative sources and more efficient use of energy makes sense on a number of grounds. However, when we're told that a question involving major economic and social policy implications is 'settled' and that no doubts are allowed, maybe that's a sign that some healthy skepticism is due.

BTW, Wednesday's House subcommittee hearing on "Climate Change: Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Human Activities Contributing to a Warming of the Planet?" has been postponed due to the snow & ice storm hitting this part of the country.

Spectacular Galactic View


NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA

Here's a spectacular view of galaxies in the cluster Abell S0740 over 450 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Centaurus. The image was taken by the now mostly non-functional Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

Astronaut Highs and Lows

So much has been written about the sorry turn of events involving astronaut Lisa Nowak. Summaries of article links are provided by SpaceToday.net and HobbySpace. All I can add is that we take the bad with the good within us wherever we go and bring it back home with us.

On the lighter side, Apollo 11 lunar pioneer Buzz Aldrin (who went through his own personal difficulties following his historic flight) appeared recently on a British TV talk show, showing he still has the 'right stuff' including a quick sense of humor. Here's the link to the YouTube clip (~9 minutes) (Hat tip to Pete Backus).

Climate Debate Heats Up

Well, since we're going through some days with sub-freezing temperatures this week, it must be time to bring up the topic of climate change. The United Nations has released the first volume of the latest assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The policy summary (PDF file) states

Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values determined from ice cores spanning many thousands of years (see Figure SPM-1). The global increases in carbon dioxide concentration are due primarily to fossil fuel use and land-use change, while those of methane and nitrous oxide are primarily due to agriculture. {2.3, 6.4, 7.3}

Meanwhile, the editors at National Review Online comment that the IPCC has pulled back from some of the more dire conclusions of their 2001 assessment.

Gone from the latest summary is the infamous “hockey stick” of the 2001 report. This was a graphic purporting to show that the planet is warmer today than at any time in the last thousand years, a demonstration which required erasing the inconvenient medieval warm period and the little ice age. The new IPCC report has also reduced its estimate of the human influence on warming by one-third (though this change was not flagged for the media, so few if any news accounts took notice of it). That reduction is one reason the IPCC narrowed the range of predicted future warming, and lowered the new midpoint — i.e., the most likely prediction of temperature increase — by a half degree, from 3.5 degrees Celsius in 2001 to 3 degrees in this report. The new assessment also cuts in half the range of predicted sea-level rise over the next century.

So an appropriate response to the question is somewhere between complacency with the status quo and a panic induced push toward economic restrictions and social engineering. Certainly, climate does change (warmer and cooler) over time, and the natural and human factors involved are not yet fully understood. Scientific efforts to monitor and analyze the situation must be sufficiently funded. And regardless of the actual impact of human activity on the global climate, practical measures to develop alternative energy sources and use the energy efficiently make sense from national security, economic, and general environmental grounds.

Federal Budget Day

President Bush sent the Administration's proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 federal budget request to Congress today. Highlights include $145 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and projecting a balanced budget by FY 2012 while making tax cuts permanent. Needless to say, there is much debate about all of these provisions.

The FY 2008 request for NASA is $17.3 billion, a modest increase over last year's request, but a more significant increase over the FY 2007 level as it stands currently in the House, at $16.2 billion. That spending measure would have a serious impact on NASA programs, especially the development of the exploration vehicles planned to replace the Space Shuttle. Of course the congressional budget appropriation process is rather arcane, and the situation may be improved later in the year, but in the mean time this situation does complicate program planning. Here is Space.com's report.

Space organizations are weighing in on the budget issue. The Space Foundation says that even the Bush Administration request shortchanges the exploration effort, while the Space Frontier Foundation sees an opportunity in the proposed congressional cutbacks.

Hubble Trouble and Zenit Zapped

The Hubble Space Telescope's main instrument, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) failed last Saturday and is unlikely to be returned to normal operations. The anomaly is under investigation, according to the NASA press release.

"It is too early to know what influences the ACS anomaly may have on Hubble Space
Telescope Servicing Mission-4 planning" said Preston Burch, associate
director/program manager for the Hubble Space Telescope. "It is important that
the review board conduct a thorough investigation that will allow us to
determine if there are any changes needed in the new instruments that will be
installed on the upcoming servicing mission so that we can be sure of maximizing
the telescope's scientific output. We are continuing to make excellent progress
in our preparations for the servicing mission, which is presently targeted to
fly in September 2008."

Meanwhile, a commercial launch went ary on its launch platform with the explosion of a SeaLaunch Zenit booster on Tuesday. Here's a YouTube video of the launch explosion.

Here Now, the Infinite Space, Infinite God Virtual Book Tour

Today, I am doing something special here at Life at the Frontier. I am honored and privileged to be host an interview with Rob and Karina Fabian to talk about their anthology of science fiction that is filled with themes of the Catholic Faith, Infinite Space, Infinite God.

Rob and Karina Fabian met in the Air Force, but their love for science fiction (and for puns) brought them together. Karina is a cradle Catholic, and attending church with her introduced Rob to the beauty of the Catholic Mass. He instantly felt at home and was confirmed just before their wedding. They now have four children, Steven, Amber, Alex, and Liam.

Writing is one way they stay connected and share a passion that doesn't result in children. While on a "date," they dreamed up a near-future where mankind has colonized the solar system and an order of nuns dedicated to space search and rescue protects the intrepid spacers for "air, shelter and the love of God." These stories led directly to their editing two anthologies, Leaps of Faith (Christian SF no longer in print) and Infinite Space, Infinite God.

Rob is a Lt. Col. in the Air Force and will be taking a Squadron Command in Minot, ND, this Fall. Karina writes novels, stories and articles and she homeschools their children.

Q. How did you become interested in science fiction and how did you begin to integrate faith and sf?

Like many of our generation, I (Karina) grew up with Star Trek. Kirk and Spock were regulars at our dinner table, and the first real novels I read--aside from Wrinkle in Time--were novelizations of the series. Rob grew up devouring the Heinlein juveniles, and he still attributes many of his attitudes and ways of thinking to those books.

As for integrating faith into our writing, that just seemed to come naturally. The more I write (for I do most of the fiction in the house), the more I find my characters and topics expressing their faith. When we started collaborating, the idea of a solar system populated by humans seemed incomplete without religious institutions--and what better charism for a convent of spacefaring nuns than search and rescue? Thus the universe of Our Lady of the Rescue was born, and from it, the anthologies Leaps of Faith (no longer published) and Infinite Space, Infinite God (2006: Twilight Times Books).

Q. How does the science fiction community respond to Catholic sf?

Depends on who you ask. It's a tough sell with publishers in part because it's a niche market--yet Tor published Sacred Visions, another anthology of Catholic SF. Canticle for Liebowitz is a recognized SF classic, and you can't get more Catholic than it. Many SF writers have turned to Catholicism for characters, ideas or even a model to base a future or alien faith upon.

There's not a lot of books or stories out that could or should bear the title "Catholic SF" and we think that's a good thing. Infinite Space, Infinite God has that moniker because all of the stories examine some aspect of Catholic faith or practice. However, we think the ideal would be to see stories and novels that embrace the Catholic faith out in the SF mainstream.

That means we writers need to write well-crafted stories which incorporate the expression of faith as naturally as they do the use of science. We think we've succeeded in that with Infinite Space, Infinite God. Most of our reviews so far have been from non-Catholics and all have loved the book. One said she was touched to the point of chills when an alien said, "But you have directions." It was holding out a Bible and the Catechism at the time.

Q. How do the Church and the Catholic community respond to Catholic sf? In particular, how much thought is being given to the Church's role in future space communities?

Catholics who love SF want to see more, naturally. Just as naturally, you'll find a great many Catholics who are vitally interested in space exploration and science fiction. I can give you a list or anyone can do a Google search for Catholic science fiction blogs and find a dozen.

An online search of the Vatican archives produced 2300 documents about space science, 737 about "space exploration" and one specifically on space colonization. Several Popes have spoken at international conventions on the topic, and the Pontifical Academy holds conferences about it. The late Pope John Paul II summed it up in his address to the delegates of the Interagency Consultant Group in 1996:

…we live in a very special moment. Using the talents given by God, people of
science have been able to develop unprecedented means of obtaining knowledge.
Extraordinary means of transportation and communication have been developed.
Computers have reached capacities and speeds previously unimaginable. Serious
plans can now be made for space stations, space colonies, and for manned
missions to planets as far away as Mars. Scientists and technologists are
developing the possibilities of making the whole planetary system a home for the
human family. But all of these developments will lead to truly significant
results only if they are employed within the frame-work of a new humanism, where
spiritual, moral, philosophical, aesthetic, and scientific values are developed
in harmony, and where there is a profound respect for the freedom and rights of
the human person.

As for the Church's physical role in space colonies--well, we need to get out there first. But Catholic religious have always followed close behind the explorers of new worlds, so where humankind goes, the Church will follow.

Q. Your anthology touches on issues of human life and human dignity. How do you see this literature playing a role in promoting a culture of life?

Science Fiction, more than any other genre is about examining ideas, asking "What if?" or exploring current trends. It can look at aspects of our society by removing them from the present (or even from humanity) and putting them in a new environment, where they can be seen more clearly. What we hope Infinite Space, Infinite God and other faith-filled SF can do is get people to think about these topics. There's no doubt that SF influences the way people think. A survey in the Library Journal (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA447055.html) said the top reasons people read SF is to explore new ideas and to affirm their worldview. So Catholic SF can both present arguments for a culture of life in a way that entertains and influences and reaffirms that culture for those who already live it.

In fact, two of our goals for Infinite Space, Infinite God (beyond just being fun to read) were to make people think and to show the Catholic Church as a viable, valued presence in our future.

Q.One theme I explore on my blog is the contrast between a 'limits to growth'/population control scenario' and a positive future where space resources are used to provide for future generations. Do you or other Catholic sf writers explore this theme?

It's certainly a theme worth exploring, but we didn't cover it in this collection. We have several stories that looked at offworld colonization, but none that specifically considered it an answer to population control. "Hopkins' Well," however, did touch on the issue, but from a dystopic point of view--a world government rises which has insisted on population control along with other "quality of life" issues has persecuted the Catholic Church until there is only an underground movement and the one Catholic colony of Hopkins' Well on Mars.

Q. If given the opportunity (cost not being an obstacle), would you like to travel into space?

How many exclamation points do you want after our "YES"?

It's on our list of "Things to Do When We Win the Lottery" right after funding a new church in Pueblo West where Karina's dad's a deacon.

Q. Any final thoughts about Infinite Space, Infinite God and beyond?

Infinite Space, Infinite God comes out in print in August 2007. We hope people will enjoy reading it as much as we've enjoyed writing it.

If the sales pan out and Twilight Times is willing, we'd like to do an ISIG II. In the meantime, many of our authors are already putting out wonderful faith-filled and secular fiction. Karina is working on two novels--one in the Our Lady of the Rescue universe and one involving a Catholic dragon private detective. She's also shopping around her fantasy anthology The Miscria and hopes to have great news this year. We're also looking for a print home for Leaps of Faith, a Christian SF anthology. Anyone interested can keep up with the latest news at http://www.fabianspace.com/ and http://isigsf.tripod.com/.

FINAL NOTE: Thank you Karina and Rob. Best wishes on the move and the Squadron Command in Minot ND and I look forward to hearing of the success of Infinite Space, Infinite God.