"God comes to the rescue of our humanity"

George Weigel writes on the meaning of the Easter Triduum, which started this evening of Holy Thursday.

The calendar pages turn, Lent unfolds — and once again, God comes to the rescue of our humanity. That is what we remember, ponder, and celebrate each year in the great Easter Triduum: the astonishing good news that the Creator of the universe entered his creation, in the person of his son, in order to redirect the story back to its proper end, which is eternal life within the light and love of the Blessed Trinity. That’s a rescue story for the ages.

Weigel puts the headlines of our age in the context of this message of hope.

The irrationality of the early twenty-first century is not only the irrationality of murder-in-the-name-of-God, however; it is also the irrationality of the radical skeptic, who insists that human beings can never know the truth of anything with surety. Corrosive skepticism is eating away at the cultural vitals of Europe, the continent that gave the world the very idea of reason; corrosive skepticism is not unknown in America, which is Europe transplanted. At this moment in history, confronted on the one side by irrational faith and on the other by a profound loss of faith in reason, the Church, Benedict XVI insists, must “make more room for rationality.”

For Spaceports, the 'Aye's Have It!

The Virginia Legislature, with the support of Governor Tim Kaine, has enacted legislation clarifying the liability regime for commercial human space travel, along with other supporting legislation for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at Wallops Island.

Meanwhile, it appears late today from provisional ballot counting that voters in Dona Ana County, New Mexico have narrowly passed a tax measure supporting the development of Spaceport America, that state's effort to take a leading role in the growing commercial human space travel industry.

The future is real, and may be coming to a spaceport near you.

Remembering Pope John Paul II

Today is the second anniversary of the great Pope's passing to eternal life. JPII was known for his courageous advocacy of the defense of human life. Here is his Vatican web page of links.

A book I've just read, The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister describes how JPII along with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher interacted to help bring about the end of the Cold War in freedom's favor.

Energy Savings Time - Not!

Apparently, the move to daylight savings time we made three weeks earlier was pretty much a draw in terms of energy savings, according to this Reuters report.

The move to turn the clocks forward by an hour on March 11 rather than the usual early April date was mandated by the U.S. government as an energy-saving effort.

But other than forcing millions of drowsy American workers and school children into the dark, wintry weather three weeks early, the move appears to have had little impact on power usage.

Actually I had my doubts about this measure when Congress was passing it two years year.

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).