The Passing of the Year

Every year seems to look weirder in retrospect than previous years and 2009, the year that "Octomom" became a household word has proven to be no exception.

The year began with great fanfare about the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States. As I asked in that post, would the policies reflect the soaring rhetoric? It soon became obvious that the policies would not favor protection of the lives of the most defenseless, though the prolife movement marched on with new resiliency.

This year we became all too used to hearing of dollar amounts in the trillions as stimulus, "Cap and Trade" and most of all health care became the issues of the day. While the acute financial crisis of late 2008 abated, rising unemployment caused continuing public anxiety over the economy. Meanwhile. the emerging "clinategate" scandal demonstrated that the certainty underlying much of the prevailing conventional wisdom is not so certain after all.

Economic turmoil and increased government intervention in citizen's lives spurred a new grassroots movement that recalls America's revolutionary roots by adopting the "tea party" logo as the political winds once again seem to be shifting direction.

With all of our domestic turmoil we are reminded that is still a dangerous world with the terrorist atrocity committed by a single individual at Ft. Hood and the averting of an even greater atrocity aboard Flight 253 on Christmas day. The struggles in Iran and other nations show how precious freedom and peace are in our world.

Progress continued in many fields of endeavor. This year I had the special opportunity to participate in the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. (To review my posts on the mission, go to my May 2009 archives and scroll to the bottom, then scroll upward to read the posts in ascending order.) The launch of other science probes and the near completion of the International Space Station and the continuing emergence of the commercial sector highlight the year in space while the nation underwent a major reassessment of the direction and implementation of its human spaceflight program. Look for decisions in early 2010, a year known for a fictional space odyssey.

So once again we need to be prayerful and vigilant while hopeful and proactive as we face another new year.

World at Unrest

While we are celebrating Christmas and other holidays, a Christmas day terrorist atrocity was narrowly averted on Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines Flight 253, revealing vulnerabilities in our security system.

In Iran, the the struggle between the government and its people continues to intensify in violence. Michael Ledeen summarizes what has been transpiring there over the last several days.

Finally, John F. Cullinan describes the situation of the often forgotten Christians in Iraq.

While the Iraqi government has belatedly taken some modest steps to ease the suffering of Iraqi Christians, the U.S. government’s consistent policy of studied and shameful indifference forms rare common ground between the Bush and Obama administrations. It is an indelible stain on American honor that two administrations did nothing to assist, much less protect, a beleaguered religious minority. Such was not the case in the Balkans a decade ago, when the Clinton administration came to the aid of embattled Muslim minorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo with decisive military force in similar circumstances. In Iraq, however, America’s unmet moral obligations were and are the direct consequence of the security vacuum arising from the American-led destruction of Saddam’s Republic of Fear.

Have a Holy and Merry Christmas!

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


Here are two stirringly beautiful Christmas music videos by Enya and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.




Trans Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Canon

shadow | MySpace Video

Expedition 22 heads to Space

Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Expedition 22 crew arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday after launching from Kazakhstan at 4:52 pm EST Sunday (2152 GMT Sunday, 3:52 am local time Monday). This brings the ISS crew back up to five after several weeks of being down to a crew of two after others departed for Earth.

Winter Wonderland

The storm as seen from far overhead (NOAA satellite image emphasizing moisture content) and from my front door and from my kitchen overlooking the deck in back.





The East Coast is experiencing a really big December snow storm today. It is a really pretty site, but by the time I'm done shoveling out, I may begin to wish Al Gore was right.

Imagine No "Overpopulation" Hysteria

A video clip cited by American Papist and picked up at other sites shows John Lennon and Yoko Ono in an appearance with TV host Dick Cavett (I'm guessing around 1971) pithily popping the bubble of "overpopulation" hysteria.

John Lennon rightly ridicules those already living deciding who else can live and also (even if somewhat flippantly) suggests human expansion beyond Earth as part of a more positive human future than population control.

Copenhagen Ends With A Wimper

The Copenhagen climate summit finally ended on Friday with an underwhelming conclusion. Then again, the premise behind the mega-conference is far from settled. As I've said before, climate change is a complex scientific topic, so we should conduct vigorous climate research and monitoring and energy research and development, but not impose major social and economic disruption.

Code RED!!

Citizens gather to oppose the health care bill (above). US Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) addresses the rally (below). Note the "Palin-Bachmann" sign behind her held by a supporter of two of America's most dynamic political women.




Several thousand citizens gathered near the Capitol this afternoon in a "Code Red" rally to oppose the constantly morphing health care bill being debated in the Senate. Abortion funding, health care rationing, excessive bureaucratic control in personal decisions and excessive costs and taxes are among the fundamental flaws in this legislation.

The most fiery rallying speech was delivered by popular radio talk show host Laura Ingraham.

After the rally, many of us visited our senators' offices (In my case, MD Senators Mikulski & Cardin) and expressed our views to the staff who were present.

WISE Launches to Unveil Objects in Space

Image Credit: United Launch Alliance

NASA launched the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite this morning from Vandenberg AFB, CA. This new observatory will map the entire sky in search of objects ranging from near Earth asteroids and comets to distant galaxies and other astronomical features.

Hanukkah and Our Attitude about the Future

(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 (like this development from earlier this week) 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 have 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.

SpaceShipTwo Unveiled

Virgin Galactic, in a dramatic after dark ceremony, rolled out its SpaceShipTwo commercial suborbital spacecraft Monday at the Mojave, CA spaceport. A crowd of guests endured some very windy weather to witness this historic roll out of the new space ship.

Hobby Space's Space Transport News page has several posts with many links including this YouTube video.

Senate Rejects Health Plan Abortion Exclusion

The Senate today rejected an amendment to exclude abortion coverage from the massive health care bill. If the bill passes the Senate without this exclusion, it will differ from the House version which includes the Stupak amendment. Abortion could be one of the pivotal issues that decides the final fate of the health care legislation.

OK, Stop Exhaling that Toxic Gas!

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared carbon dioxide (yes, the stuff you breathe out and plants breathe in) and five other greenhouse gases a threat to public health.

Meanwhile, the Copenhagen climate summit has opened with a carbon footprint larger than that of some small countries and new differences among nations.

Finally, the growing global "ClimateGate" scandal continues to generate news.

Hearing on Bill Targeting Pregnancy Centers

Last night I attended, along with about 250 others, a County Council hearing here in Montgomery County, MD on a bill targeting prolife pregnancy help centers by requiring that they post disclaimers that the information they provide to clients is not medical advice. The usual suspects are pushing this bill.

The bill was supported by Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, the Maryland chapter of the National Organization for Women and NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland.

Representatives of the affected centers and a large number of other witnesses pointed out that the centers already disclose that they do not provide or refer for abortions or contraceptives, that the bill creates a double standard since it does not require abortion providers to post any disclosures, and that such "compelled speech" could raise serious First Amendment issues.

A similar bill was just recently enacted in Baltimore. It will be seen if the large turnout and compelling arguments presented at the hearing cause the council to reconsider their intent to pass this dubious legislation.

UPDATE: Another post including some video of selected portions of the hearing is up at Restore-DC-Catholicism.

Global Unraveling

The growing climate scandal is unraveling globally, according to James Delingpole. Particularly significant is Australia's emissions trading scheme failing to pass that nation's Senate. This could signal a global trend that could make it really interesting in Copehagen next week.

There is so much unfolding on this story. Climate Depot is providing a staedily growing collection of links related to the situation, so I'm adding this site to my side bar.

Obama's Afghanistan Speech

I was out last night and did not see President Obama deliver his speech on Afghanistan (text here). There is much commentary with varying views on the policy and how much the President is committed to victory. I give him credit for adopting a policy not favored by his base. I do question the public statement of a goal to begin withdrawal in 2011. I think stating such a goal publicly will likely complicate the situation.

Even when the cause is just, going to war is always a serious situation where lives will be lost what ever we do. Let's pray this ends for the better.

Advent: Looking Toward Christmas

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, a time of preparation for the coming celebration of our Savior's coming at Christmas. Pope Benedict XVI welcomed the season on Sunday.

This Sunday we begin, by the grace of God, a new liturgical year, which opens naturally with Advent, a time of preparation for the Lord's nativity. In the constitution on the Liturgy, the Second Vatican Council states that the Church "presents in the annual cycle the whole mystery of Christ, from the incarnation and the nativity, to the ascension, the day of pentecost, and the expectation of the blessed hope and return of the Lord."

Atlantis Returns to Florida

Space Shuttle Atlantis returned safely to Earth on Friday after delivering supplies and spare components to the International Space Station (ISS) and assisting the ISS crew in performing upgrades to the station. ISS crew member Nicole Stott returned on Atlantis after serving for ~3 months aboard ISS.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A special day to give thanks to God for all His gifts to us.

The first American Congress enacted the first national day of Thanksgiving during the Revolution. (Hat tip to Laura Ingraham)

Saratoga turned the tide of the war -- news of the victory was decisive in bringing France into a full alliance with America. Congress responded to the event by appointing a committee of three that included Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia and Daniel Roberdeau of Pennsylvania, to draft a report and resolution. The report, adopted Nov. 1, declared Thursday, Dec. 18, as "a day of Thanksgiving" to God, so that "with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor."

On October 3, 1863, in the middle of the dire circumstances of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that carried on the tradition of giving thanks to God.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

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

"Enlightened" Agendas Falling Apart All Over

Those in the liberal political and cultural establishment may act like their biggest worry is Sarah Palin's book tour. But they must be feeling the sinking pit in the stomach over how their agenda is unraveling all over the place. A few examples:

- A man in Britain believed to be in a coma for 23 years was found to be mentally aware the whole time, demonstrating how foolhardy it is to be dismissive of such a patient's condition. Wasn't this what the family of Terri Schindler Schiavo (supported by the prolife and disability rights movements) tried to say all along?

- ACORN (the gift that keeps on giving): After getting busted this summer by an undercover video project for being willing to abet horrendous illegal activity (prostitution and human trafficking), the organization was facing an investigation by the California AG's office, so a branch office near San Diego attempted to dispose of many potentially incriminating documents, causing ACORN to be once again busted by its arch-nemesis, Andy Breitbart.

Hat tip to Rand Simberg whose comment should not be missed.

As I said, the Republic is fortunate in its enemies. It’s about what you’d expect, though. An organization like ACORN is not going to select for the best and brightest, and perhaps that’s what always saves us from people like them. Remember that tape during the campaign last year of the moron (I think almost literally) in the red tee-shirt, speechifying "ACORN needs Obama, and Obama needs ACORN"?

-The Earth may or may not be heating up, but the global climate research scandal surely is, with growing calls for investigation. More details revealed by Powerline Blog here.

This is the growing scandal that is starting to rock the world. Find many links to info and commentary at Climate Depot.

- And I haven't much time to go into the unravelling health care debate in Congress.

STS-129: Successful Labor in Space and on Earth

The Space Shuttle Atlantis and International Space Station (ISS) crews have accomplished their major mission objectives including transfer of spare cargo to ISS and three days of work outside the station (EVA-1, EVA-2, EVA-3).

Meanwhile , while astronaut Randy Bresnik was busy working in space, back on the ground, his wife successfully deployed their baby girl after the usual ~9 months in the payload bay.

Something's Heating Up Big Time

With so much unraveling in ways the conventional wisdom establishment cannot control (health care debate, stimulus benefits in imaginary congressional districts, KSM NYC trial reaction, Sarah Palin on the move, etc.), a revelation of some hacked e-mails at a British climate research center may turn out to be the biggest story of all. This story broke on the Internet on Friday according to Powerline Blog (Intro here, follow-up details here and here).

The biggest news story of the day is one that has barely begun to break and will continue to reverberate for months or years to come. Someone hacked into a computer at the University of East Anglia's Hadley Climatic Research Centre, one of the main centers of anthropogenic global warming research. The hacker downloaded 62 megabytes of data from the server, consisting of around 1,000 emails and a variety of other documents. He uploaded them to an FTP server, where they were available to the public, apparently, for only a few hours. The event is described here.

Before the documents disappeared from that location, several people had downloaded them and posted them in other locations. I downloaded all of the material earlier today and have begun to review it. The emails are stunning. They are authored by many of the leading figures in the global warming movement: Michael Mann, James Hansen, Phil Jones, Keith Briffa, Stephen Schneider, and others. They are remarkably candid; these individuals talk to each other with the knowledge that they are among friends.

Rand Simberg has links and commentary here and here.

As has been noted for a story this significant and complex, it will take time for assessing and corroborating all of the relevant information. But considering how much the topic of "global warming" has been on the whole world's agenda for many years, this breaking story has the potential for tremendous political and social reverberation.

They Can't Keep a Good Woman Down

Much of the political and media establishment thought that they permanently buried Sarah Palin's reputation after last year's election. Now they seem to be apoplectic that she's back, stronger than ever with her new book tour. Robert Costa is maintaining a "Rogue" blog at NRO covering the book tour and the range of reactions to it.

Meanwhile, it appears that a lot of Americans, many of whom probably don't share Palin's political views or populist style, have come to see that she has been treated unfairly by much of the media, according to a Fox News poll.

As Sarah Palin blankets the media on a whirlwind book promotion tour, the former vice-presidential contender is clearly back on America's radar screen. Despite being characterized by many as a divisive force in her party and the nation, Americans are much more likely to give Palin a positive rating (47 percent favorable) than another prominent female leader -- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (28 percent favorable). Moreover, about six in 10 Americans (61 percent) think Palin has been treated unfairly by the press, according to the latest Fox News poll.

Senate OKs Health Care Debate

The US Senate this evening voted to proceed with debating the Senate version of a health care reform bill. The initial procedural vote had a straight party line margin of 60-39. The Senate version being promoted by Majority Leader Harry Reid weighs in at a whopping 2,074 pages, slightly larger than the House passed version's 1,990 pages.

After Thanksgiving the real debate and parliamentary maneuvering begins over the details, including abortion funding, health care rationing,the real cost of the plan, impacts on citizen choice, medical research, etc.

Atlantis Launches for Station Delivery

Space shuttle Atlantis launches through the clouds from Launch Pad 39A.
Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off this afternoon from Kennedy Space Center, FL, carrying spare parts and other hardware to the International Space Station (ISS). Most of the cargo is mounted on two carriers developed at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

"Significant Amount" of Water on the Moon

NASA's LCROSS lunar impactor mission which culminated on October 9 has revealed a "significant amount" of water in the crater where the impact took place, according to mission scientists. This confirmation is a major break through in our understanding of the Moon.

"We are ecstatic," said Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "Multiple lines of evidence show water was present in both the high angle vapor plume and the ejecta curtain created by the LCROSS Centaur impact. The concentration and distribution of water and other substances requires further analysis, but it is safe to say Cabeus holds water."

Paul Spudis explains this development within the context of other recent lunar missions and emphasises that it enables human lunar development.

When the crater formed, flying ice particles could have refracted the glare of unfiltered sunlight into an "ice rainbow," similar to those seen through very high altitude clouds on Earth. For a very brief time, a rainbow might have been visible to an observer standing on the lunar surface. And like its namesake, this rainbow is a promise - a promise that the Moon is habitable. It is an invitation to humanity to extend man’s domain to our nearest planetary neighbor.

This discovery comes at a time when it could influence the decisions on the direction of the US space exploration program. It might also provide a powerful incentive for increased commercial activity on the Moon.

March Storm Lives!

In a mix-up this week, two space groups that share a common heritage, similar vision and quite a number of participants were vying to lay claim to the mantle of the March Storm citizens space volunteer lobbying effort. A group within the Space Frontier Foundation (SFF) claimed that the annual event "was allowed to fade away" and would be revived by the Foundation in 2010.

ProSpace, the organization that has conducted March Storm for more than a decade, responded quickly that planning for the 2010 event was already underway and that the 2009 event was cancelled for a number of reasons including the difficulty of getting congressional focus on space issues in the midst of the nation's economic crisis.

I am active in both of these organizations and was involved in the events of this week. Faulty assumptions were made by some individuals, but I won't go any further as this was a misunderstanding among friends and both organizations need to move forward toward the goals we share. The outcome is that there will be a ProSpace March Storm in 2010 and the SFF group will probably conduct a similar event under another name. That would continue the healthy trend of several space lobbying efforts by various professional and citizen organizations.

The Wall Came Down

Germany and the world celebrated today's twentieth anniversary of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the most visible event in a time of the rapid collapse of communism in eastern Europe and eventually of the Soviet Union itself. This was a momentous time for anyone who had grown up with the threat of communism in the world.

Newt and Callista Gingrich and Vince Haley point out that this historic event had as much a spiritual component as it did a political one.

Freelance Terrorism

Accused Ft. Hood mass murderer Nidal Malik Hasan apparently had contact with an extreme Islamic Imam and attempted to contact Al Qaeda. Whether Hasan had any direct support or, as is likely, he acted alone, the killings now appear to have been an act of terrorism, an act of war against the US. Those that want to destroy us can use the Internet and other means to encourage and advise freelance terrorists without giving direct and specific orders.

This deadly attack once again raises the issue of signals that were missed and of an excessive political correctness that may weaken our ability to detect and counter threats in this dangerous kind of war.

Health Care Bill and Abortion Funding

Some interesting fallout appears from the votes on Saturday night on the Stupak anti-abortion funding amendment and the final Pelosi health care bill. Some have argued that enacting the Stupak amendment provided cover for some reps to vote for final passage of the Pelosi Bill (with all its other onerous features), enabling it to pass by a narrow 220-215. That is probably true at face value.

However, this outcome may have set up a situation that could lead to the ultimate defeat of whatever final ObamaReidPelosi health care monstrosity that emerges while also weakening the pro-abortion lobby's grip on power and strengthening the role of prolife Democrats.

Already, staunchly pro-abortion legislators and activists are in an uproar over the House Dem leaders' caving to allow the Stupak amendment vote as a price to pay for winning passage of the Pelosi bill. And the abortion funding issue now adds to the already complicated situation facing the Senate Dem leaders pushing to pass a Senate bill.

There has been some second-guessing among some prolife and conservative activists over the Stupak amendment strategy. However, Steven Ertelt analyzes the differing views and calls for unity among prolife forces moving forward to advance the cause of life and defeat whatever health care bill emerges with anti-life and other onerous features.

Even with Stupak added, every pro-life group admits that rationing and conscience issues remain and that the bill still has concerns for the pro-life movement. No pro-life group -- and even the bishops despite some mis-reporting in the mainstream media -- are supporting the House bill as approved.

Let's cease the attacks on one another. This is only a strategic debate between people who wholeheartedly want to see abortion end immediately if not sooner and not a matter of one side or the other abandoning pro-life principles. We all want to get the ball in the end zone and some of us want to pass and some to run the ball.

Housekeeping

I've finally gotten around to adding some links of favorite sites to my sidebar links and blogs sections, including NASASpaceFlight, NewsMax, CNSNews, American Thinker, Instapundit, RedState and Hot Air. I've also deleted a few defunct blog links.

"House Call" This Afternoon, House Voting Tonight

The House of Representatives tonight voted (barely) for the ~2,000 page health care bill after approving language excluding support of abortion from the plan. More on this below, but first this afternoon's rally at the Capitol.

I attended a "House Call" rally this afternoon outside the Capitol building (a short notice follow up to a larger rally held Thursday that I did not attend). Leading Republican House members active in opposing the Pelosi bill spoke. The event climaxed with a dramatic unrolling of the bill with pages taped end-to-end from the lawn all the way up the long set of steps up to the House side of the Capitol.


House members and citizens oppose government health care takeover.


The ~2,000 page bill creeps up the Capitol steps.


Rep. Michele Bachmann meets with a wheel chair bound citizen concerned about the bill.

After the rally, I met with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), a rising formidable political leader (who has been drawing some of the same kind of harsh attacks as has Sarah Palin), who was eager to sign my FORMER EMBRYO T-shirt. (I'll order another one (size XXL again to fit over winter clothing) to wear as I can't risk washing out the signature.)

Then I joined a few friends in visiting the offices of our Maryland reps, Van Hollen and Edwards, where we had brief and spirited but respectful discussions with staffers.

Tonight the Pelosi bill passed by 220-215 (with 39 Dems voting against and one Republican voting for). This is not a done deal as no bill has passed the Senate yet, so this debate is far from over.

One significant compromise the House Dem leaders made to get their bill passed was to allow a vote on the Stupak-Pitts amendment to bar abortion coverage in the bill. This passed by a stronger margin than the bill itself, with 64 Dems supporting to make the margin 240-194 (with 1 "present"). This is a significant prolife victory. A bipartisan prolife press conference on C-SPAN now (~12:15 AM Sunday) has members (with diverging views on the overall health care bill) noting the significance of this stand against federal abortion funding.

Of course, the possibility of abortion funding being sneaked back into the final bill plus the unaddressed issues of health care rationing, government control, high cost and impact on medical innovation mean the coming battles over health care require continuing vigilance.

And They Want to Run Our Whole Health Care System?

The American Future Fund asks that very question with this very timely and pithy ad.

Coming Out of the Dark Side

A director of a Planned Parenthood (PP) affiliate in Texas has resigned after seeing an ultrasound of an abortion taking place. She has joined a local prolife group praying outside the same PP facility she directed. Interestingly, it appears that PP is seeking by court order to restrain the former director and the prolife group from revealing certain information "to protect the safety and confidentiality of our clients and staff." Wonder what PP is really trying to hide?

Deadly Shootings at Ft. Hood

The tragic situation at Ft. Hood today has taken several turns as developments were revealed this evening. The current situation is that the lone gunman (as opposed to early reports of 2 or 3 shooters) who killed 12 is alive and hospitalized. While the actions being of a lone gunman make it unlikely to be part of a terrorist conspiracy, his political and religious views may have provided some of the motivation for the deadly crimes.

Rebel Alliance Starts to Regain Ground

Tonight's elections have so far resulted in a Republican sweep in Virginia led by Bob McDonnell becoming that state's next governor.

Fox News has just now (10:18 PM EST) projected Chis Christie as winning the New Jersey Governorship. (AP also saying Christie wins.)

Still waiting on New York Congressional District (CD) 23, California CD 10, Maine & Washington ballot votes on marriage.

While a lot can happen in a year, tonight's results give the GOP momentum going into the 2010 midterm elections. This is change we can believe in.

Lunar Lander Challenge Winners

NASA's Lunar Lander Challenge has been occurring over the past few weeks and has now been completed with the announcement of winners. This project offered prize money to spur innovative efforts to develop innovative technology that can be applied to a lunar lander.

THUD!! 1,990 Pages Too Long

Just in time for Halloween, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unleashed her behemoth 1,990 page version of the health care bill today. The more contortions they go through to try and pass this stuff only confirms that the only smart move is to stop any health care reform being pushed by the current leadership in Washington. Better to wait a few years until we are able to get truly constructive health care reform.

Aries 1-X Launch

Ares 1-X ascends in today's test launch.
Photo Credit: NASA

NASA's Ares 1-X launch vehicle was successfully launched today on a suborbital test flight of some of the characteristics NASA plans for its Ares 1 crew carrying launch vehicle. Congratulations to all those on the Ares team that worked hard to get to this moment.

The test occurs as NASA and the White House and Congress review the report released by the Augustine Committee last week which addressed some of the options for the nation's human space exploration plans. Concerns about technical, cost and scheduling issues with NASA's current plan have prompted new consideration of other Shuttle derived launch vehicle proposals as well as commercial human launch options.

Augustine Committee Report

It's been the buzz in the space community from late spring, all through the summer and into the fall. The Review of US Human Space Flight Plans Committee, commonly known as the Augustine committee, today delivered its final report (PDF).

The report describes the currently planned program and proposed alternatives in light of a couple of budget scenarios and lays out several options of exploration strategies and launch vehicle architectures. The report will now be considered by NASA, the Obama Administration and Congress in developing a budget and path for NASA and the nation's human spaceflight activities.

Meanwhile, NASA administrator Charles Bolden is reported to have requested studies of Shuttle hardware based launch vehicles to be completed before Thanksgiving.

Anglican Christians Provided Path for Full Communion with the Catholic Church

In a historic announcement today, the Vatican announced Pope Benedict XVI's decision to allow Anglican Christians to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church. Details and the historic significance are explained in this Catholic Online article.

There is only one word for this historic announcement - extraordinary. The Apostolic Constitution signed by Pope Benedict XVI will dramatically affect the ecclesial landscape of the entire Christian world. It will also change Christian history going forward. To this observer, who has been writing about these events for a long time and holding firm to the hope of just such an opening while others dismissed it, this is only the beginning of an historic period of Church history, a new missionary age.

Father George Rutler, himself a former Anglican, describes how today's event marks the decline of the liberal wing in the Anglican Church and then goes on to explain its larger significance to the future of Christianity.

It remains to be seen how many Anglicans (Episcopalians in the USA) will be received into the Catholic Church under these provisions, but it is a final nail in the coffin of the rapidly disintegrating Anglicanism at least in the West are will radically challenge Anglicans in other parts of the world.

Perhaps most importantly, it sets a precedent for reunion with Orthodox churches whose Holy Orders the Catholic Church already recognizes as valid.

At a time when the the most active forces in the world appear to be the most extreme wing of Islam and a growing extreme secular/atheist movement, this move toward greater Christian unity may mark a significant new twist in the coming future of humanity.

Ares-1X on the Pad

The Ares I-X rocket has reached Launch Pad 39B.
Image credit: NASA TV


Early today, NASA rolled out the first test vehicle of its planned future exploration program, Ares-1X, to launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The vehicle, which will use a Space Shuttle solid rocket booster with a dummy fifth segment, upper stage and capsule, is scheduled for its suborbital test launch next Tuesday, October 27.

Whether this is the first of many vehicles of this type or a one-shot-wonder, may be determined by the review of the whole NASA human spaceflight program now underway. The Augustine committee conducting that review is set to deliver its long awaited final report on Thursday.

"Fair and Balanced" May Be Spreading

Two recent examples from surprising sources indicate that established media organizations, perhaps in spite of themselves, are capable of presenting both sides of society's most controversial issues. In one case, Jill Stanek reports that a recent pair of articles in the New York Times (yes, the New York Times !) told the stories of prolife street protesters in a even-handed manor and presented the photographic evidence of the violence of abortion usually avoided by the major media.

In the other example, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), in an on-line article, actually acknowledged that the question of man-made global warming is far from settled. Scientists with differing points of view on the issue were quoted and the complexity and changing state of climate science were recognized.

It's too soon to tell whether these examples signal an emerging trend. Occurrences of the usual ideological media bias are still common. However, declining readership/viewership and major scoops by alternative media enterprises (e.g. the ACORN scandal) may be forcing some established media practitioners to be more diligent about getting outside of their ideological comfort zones to present controversial issues more fairly.

"Balloon Boy" Home Safe (He Never Left) and a Childhood TV Memory

The boy-and-the-balloon episode in Colorado yesterday had a happy, if somewhat anticlimactic and mysterious, ending, with the boy being home the whole time.

This event actually brought back memories of a fictional multi-show episode (scroll down to ""The Journey" part 1 (02/17/63)") on the TV show Lassie, where Timmy and Lassie (the world's most famous collie of that era) take an accidental balloon trip to a Canadian forest. I was only seven years old at the time and I recall being genuinely worried about the fate of Timmy and Lassie. The story was later made into a movie.

Hitting the Moon for Science

NASA's LCROSS mission impacted the Moon Friday morning in search of water in the shadows of lunar South Pole crater Cabeus. While the lack of a visible flash or plume was disappointing to many, scientists are still analyzing data from spacecraft and ground based observatories which may yet reveal significant scientific results. Significant amounts of water, especially in the lunar polar regions would also be helpful to future human activities on or near the Moon.

Triumph of Hope over Accomplishment

The selection of President Barack Obama for this year's Nobel Peace Prize has astonished even many who are not opposed to the President or his policies. The Nobel prize is usually awarded after someone has accomplished specific works that have brought some peace or advanced human dignity somewhere in the world.

While we argue now over the likely outcome of President Obama's policies in five or ten years, at least he will have a record that can be assessed. That would have been a more appropriate time frame to consider anyone for a Nobel Prize.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to noble leaders for human dignity including Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa, but in more recent years seems to have taken on more of a political agenda. I'm not really surprised at anything after the award of the prize a couple of years ago to Al Gore for making a bad science fiction movie.

Celebrating Water on Earth and Space

Spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte (aka space clown) hosted an international media performance last night from his vantage point aboard the International Space Station that focused on the planet's water supply and its importance to all human beings. Much of the show reflected the style of Cirque du Soleil, of which Laliberte is the founder. You can see a replay of this 2-hour global event at the One Drop Foundation site.

Laliberte and two departing ISS crewmembers have departed from the station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and will be landing in Kazakhstan in a few hours.

Some Space Stuff

A couple of space notes to catch up on.

- The Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, bringing two new crew members and paying passenger Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil, who will host a global show next Friday focusing on the world's water resources.

- Today is the fifth anniversary of SpaceShipOne winning the Ansari X-Prize for privately funded and executed human spaceflight. Developments since then have bee on the ground and relatively behind the scenes, but that will soon change.

- Look for an exciting Hubble IMAX movie to come out next spring, coinciding with the telescope twentieth anniversary on-orbit. Some of us who supported the latest servicing mission got to see a preview of some footage being prepared for the movie. It's quite impressive.

Meanwhile, the European Space Agency has provided a video tribute to the Hubble Space Telescope. (Hat tip to Jack Kennedy's Spaceports blog.)

The Thrill is Gone

The world's largest figure lost credibility by leading an entourage to Copenhagen to win over the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to place the Summer Olympics in Chicago in 2016. So, as the Olympics were handed to Rio, Oprah went away empty-handed! How is she ever going to face her audience again with her guests covering all the idiosyncrasies of relationships, health, or whatever else she covers on her popular series? (I've hardly ever watched it, so I don't really know.) And weren't we counting on her to subdue the Iranian leaders with psycho-babble into giving up their nuclear weapons program?

Seriously, the thing that startled commentators, even those who had criticized the trip in advance, was that President Obama put his credibility on the line without assurance of a favorable outcome. Most had assumed that if the President was putting himself and his office so out in front, the fix must be in. (After all, this is Chicago we're talking about.)

Anyway, there are mixed emotions about this outcome. Obviously, it would have been a point of local and national pride for Chicago to have hosted the Olympics (though polling showed Chicago residents divided, given the financial risks and logistical hassles involved). Of course congratulations and best wishes are due to Rio, which no doubt will put on a great show.

More important, is what does it mean for the President's credibility in dealing with more serious issues? On the one hand, it is a good thing if it diminishes his ability to win support for some of the dubious policies that he and the Congressional Democrats are pushing. And it is a healthy reminder that, for all the hype last year, Barack Obama does not walk on water. At the same time, all Americans should be concerned that any president, even one that many of us so strongly disagree with, not have their credibility so diminished that those in the world who would do us grave harm might act on their evil desires. We are living in dangerous times, so watch and pray.

Triple Play at Mercury

A Bright Spot on the Surface of Mercury (September 29, 2009)
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

The MESSENGER spacecraft flew by the planet Mercury on Tuesday, the third of three flybys before the spacecraft enters orbit around the planet in 2011. Mercury is the Solar System's inner-most planet.

This afternoon a friend and I attended an event at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the organization that built and is now controlling the pioneering spacecraft. We heard several of the leading mission participants present background on the science and exploration of Mercury and the MESSENGER mission along with the latest results (followed by a stop for barbecue and beer just outside the Lab). For continuing updates, check out the MESSENGER web site.

Climate Complexity

Jonah Goldberg comments on a recent New York Times article on the ambiguity of recent global climate trends and how it complicates what is perceived as the urgency of the issue of "global warming". He hits the nail on the head with this paragraph.

Now I'm open to the possibility that the explanation for the cool spell we're in is not a refutation of the general case for climate change. Climate is a complicated thing and we could be in a short cooling period in the middle of a long warming period. Or, we might not be. No need to rehash that whole argument here. But what I find absolutely galling is the failure of the Times or the scientists quoted to take seriously the possibility that the potential cooling period is an indictment of the tactics, rhetorical and otherwise, used by the alarmists. Ten years ago the models didn't predict any of what has transpired or appears to be transpiring. They undermined their own credibility. And now that they want to communicate "nuance" instead of fear - solely because the data forces them to - they're having a hard time of it. Well boo hoo for them.

Jonah Goldberg rightly points out the complexity of climate science here and the stubborn refusal of proponents of the man-made global warming proposition to consider the recent cooling trend as anything but a short-term temporary aberration to global warming. It is important for proponents and skeptics (notice I try to avoid terms like "believers" and "deniers") alike to be open minded to the complexity of climate science and that there is really much we do not yet understand.

As for climate policy, this means we should pursue vigorous climate research and monitoring plus a broad development of energy resources and other environmental policies that make sense whether man-made global warming is real or not. We should not pursue policies such as the current "cap-and-trade" bill that would turn our lives and economy upside down over a "crisis" on which respected scientists remain divided.

Water, Water Everywhere...

...especially on the Moon and Mars.


Credits: ISRO/NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS/Brown Univ.

Today's press conference announcing the confirmation of water on the Moon highlighted the fact that water is not only present at the lunar poles, where it has been suspected to exist in perpetually shadowed craters, but also (in lesser quantities) in the soil all over the Moon. This confirmation of lunar water is being called a "game changer" in terms of enabling human activities, including providing fuel for spacecraft.

In a separate media event today, more confirmation of the presence of water on Mars was discussed. It turns out that the Viking 2 lander, which arrived on Mars in 1976, may have been inches away from discovering ice under the Martian soil.

Heroes for the Rebel Alliance

There's been too much going on recently to keep up with, with our current national leadership pushing fantasy land foreign and domestic policies. So it's time to salute some real heroes who are waging the good fight to minimize the damage until the voters can have a do-over at the polls.

So here's to the team of James O'Keefe III, Hannah Giles and Andrew Breitbart, whose undercover journalism busted ACORN for its employees' consistently air-headed willingness to assist illegal and reprehensible activity. Here is an AP story on how this operation was developed.

This grassroots journalism operation not only busted ACORN (and hopefully raised doubts about other similar organizations), but has caught the much of the established media off guard and scrambling to figure out this new age of grassroots journalism.

Day at the Faire

I spent today at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. This was the time to go because the weather was so perfectly comfortable for this outdoor activity and also because this weekend was Irish Weekend at the festival. (Halfway to St. Patrick's Day!)

Armadillo Qualifies for Lander Prize

Armadillo Aerospace has qualified to win the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge prize of $1 million, showing how prizes can spur affordable innovation. More information and links here.

Norman Borlaug, RIP

Norman Borlaug, the agricultural scientist who won the Nobel Peace Prize for starting the "Green Revolution" that spared many in the world from death by famine, died on Saturday at age 95. His success countered the dismal predictions of some of a catastrophic global famine.

We the People Came by the Many Thousands

The First Amendment, shown here posted on the wall of the Newseum, was well exercised today in DC.

Just an intimate little tea party that turned out so many people in Washington DC today that I've heard crowd counts all over the range. Any way, I was there and I can say that the crowd size was at least comparable to recent years of the March for Life, where crowd estimates seem to range from 100,000 to at least 200,000.

The issues that drove today's rally included the raging debate over what kind of health care reform to enact. taxing and spending, and the influence of outside agenda-driven organizations such as ACORN, where an undercover media team busted ACORN employees in Baltimore and in DC all too willing to enable criminal activity as in prostitution involving underage girls. (Whoever thought that providing "housing services" includes being willing to provide cover for whore houses?). The common theme among these issues is the sense of a government out of control pursuing policies based on utopian fantasies with no grounding in real life.

Some have tried to marginalize these protests as the harsh expression of a vocal minority. Maybe they're upset that the rest of us have caught on to this "community organizing" thing. While I don't necessarily endorse every sign or slogan I've seen at this or any rally, I feel this kind of outpouring is a healthy form of debate in a free society. What will be interesting is how this conflict between differing powerful forces in our society will play out.




Some of the more interesting signs/buttons on display at the rally today

Discovery's Return Wraps a Busy Space Week

Space Shuttle Discovery landed Friday evening, a day late and in California instead of Florida, but after a successful mission to carry supplies, including valuable scientific equipment to the International Space Station (ISS) and to implement an ISS crewmember swap.

Meanwhile, Thursday saw the launch of Japan,s first HTV cargo ship to the ISS and the static test in Utah of a 5-segment booster designed for the Ares rockets planned for future exploration.

All this on top of the release of spectacular post-servicing Hubble images and the release of the Augustine Committee summary report on future human spaceflight options earlier in the week.

In Remembrance of September 11, 2001

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

Eight 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.

Eight 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 audio/visual Internet presentation developed by a New Yorker shortly after the attacks recaptures all of those experiences. The sequence is ~15 minutes long and some of the images and sounds are quite disturbing, others are inspirational. (I've also added the link to this video to my sidebar.)

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 Fruits of Our Labor

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope snapped this panoramic view of a colorful assortment of 100,000 stars residing in the crowded core of Star Cluster Omega Centauri
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team

The first pictures and science data were released today from the Hubble Space Telescope after two new instruments were installed and two others repaired during the STS-125 servicing mission back in May. More links here. This is a great day for all of us who participated in preparing for and executing this historic mission.

Augustine Committee Summary Plus My Document

The Augustine Committee studying the future of human spaceflight issued a summary of its report yesterday. (The full report to be issued later.) While I haven't had time to read it, the summary reportedly lays out several options as paths for future exploration and points out the need for additional NASA funding and more engagement of the commercial space industry.

Meanwhile, the committee has a web page containing many documents both produced by the committee and those presenting at its public sessions plus many submitted by members of the public. Recently, the paper I submitted in June was posted on the site. Here it is. (PDF)

Obama's Health Care Speech

I was out at a gathering tonight so I did not see or hear President Obama's speech to Congress tonight on health care. Here are the texts of the President's speech and the response by Dr. Charles Boustany (R-LA).

Robert Schindler, RIP

Robert Schindler, who fought to protect the life of his daughter Terri Schindler Schiavo in the case that resulted in her court imposed death in 2005, passed away Saturday at age 71. Mr. Schindler and his family founded the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation to protect other vulnerable people whose lives may be endangered.

Discovery Enroute to ISS

Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray-Tom Farrar

Space Shuttle Discovery launched just before midnight Friday night on the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The ship will deliver scientific research equipment and a treadmill named COLBERT to the ISS. Three EVAs (spacewalks) will be performed to service the station.

Astronaut Jose Hernandez is making his first flight on this mission. His wife Adela runs a restaurant near the Johnson Space Center called Tierra Luna Grill, which is Spanish for Earth Moon Grill, that I ate at several times while visiting Houston preparing for the Hubble servicing mission that flew in May.

Edward Kennedy, RIP

The passing of Senator Ted Kennedy Tuesday evening at age 77 after a year long struggle with a brain tumor marks the passing of a life intertwined with decades of history. Mark Stricherz provides a balanced assessment of Ted Kennedy's political activities and personal life.

While he pushed for policies he felt advanced the cause of the poor and vulnerable, Ted Kennedy's attachment to pro-abortion policies that disregarded the lives of the unborn betrayed those ideals and cost him the moral credibility to be persuasive to many on those other issues.

May God have mercy on his soul and provide comfort to his family who have suffered so much tragedy.

Commercial Space Adventure Taking Off

A commercial venture using old Soviet military space hardware (with systems upgrades) expects to be carrying researchers into orbit for up to a week within a few years. Excalibur Almaz Limited (EA) made its announcement today at the annual Moscow Air Show in Russia. The company has enlisted some well respected NASA and corporate veterans plus other space companies in its venture.

This is an exciting development as each serious commercial venture adds credibility to the growing commercial space industry as a whole.

Robert Novak, RIP

Famed writer and columnist Robert Novak, who was close to many of the historic political events of recent decades and a strong conservative voice, died today at age 78. He was known for, among other things, taking a strong prolife position.

Conservatives Organizing Online

The Right Online conference occurring in Pittsburgh this weekend, featuring prominent political and media leaders and grassroots bloggers has been covered on C-SPAN. The event is designed to encouraged conservative citizens to strengthen online efforts to promote conservative ideas in politics.

Woodstock Anniversary

This weekend, there much reminiscing and commentary on the fortieth anniversary of the Woodstock music festival in upstate New York in 1969. (Commemorative web sites here , here and here) The festival has become known as the iconic cultural event of an era, though it probably more reflected the (good and bad) trends of that time, some of which still affect society today.

One thing I find interesting is that an event that totally broke down logistically, leaving many thousands stuck in rain and mud for three days, was and is celebrated as an experience of peace and community. It's hard to imagine such an organizational calamity would occur today without flaring tempers, massive lawsuits, and numerous postmortems on TV and radio news and talk shows.

Final Public Meeting

The "Augustine Committee" reviewing US plans for human spaceflight held its final scheduled public meeting this afternoon in DC, which I attended. While past meetings featured guest speakers highlighting various concepts and proposals, the committee used today's meeting to focus on narrowing a complex set of options for the direction and architecture of the human spaceflight program that can be sustained in difficult budget circumstances. Dr. Edward Crawly presented the Integrated Options (PPT) under consideration. Former astronaut Dr. Sally Ride presented an eye-opening presentation (PPT) on how the current plans and some of the proposed options fit into a realistic budget profile (or not, which may drive significant changes to the space plans, as explained in these articles linked by NASA Watch). Dr. Wanda Austin then presented Evaluation Measures and Criteria (PPT) which were used by the committee in an extensive and informative deliberation on the options under consideration.

I left before the meeting concluded, after Committee Chairman Norm Augustine explained to the audience that this process was required by law to be carried out in public and not be agreed upon ahead of time behind closed doors. He said that the committee would stay 'til midnight if necessary to complete their deliberations, though the audience was not required to stay (though I think they were actually going to be able to wrap up long before midnight). I think there may have been more public transparency shown today by Mr. Augustine's committee than we've seen all year from the White House and Congress as they try to push a massive health plan, stimulus package, etc.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, RIP

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy and Sens. Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, passed away on Tuesday at age 88. Here is the extensive Washington Post obituary, which describes how Mrs. Shriver's faith and family experience inspired her role in founding the Special Olympics and her other initiatives on behalf of society's most vulnerable members.

Consistent with those efforts, Eunice Kennedy Shriver remained a stalwart defender of the dignity of every human life at every stage and condition.

Shriver, a lifelong pro-life Democrat, was the sister of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and Senator Edward Kennedy.

But she was honored by Feminists for Life of America in 1998 as a "Remarkable Pro-Life Woman."

When she received the award, FFLA president Serrin Foster tells LifeNews.com, "her husband phoned the office and asked us to send over a stack of copies for his family and friends. He was delighted that we recognized her in this meaningful way."

"Her legacy will live on in our work and especially in the work of Special Olympics," Foster says.

Shriver was a member of the advisory committee of the Susan B. Anthony List, a women's group dedicated to electing pro-life women to Congress

Unfortunately, Mrs. Shriver's concern for the dignity of every human life was not shared by the powerful leaders of the Democratic Party, including some in her own family. I see this is the underlying reason why they now find themselves lacking moral credibility as they try to sell a massive health plan to the American people.

Free Speech and Health Care (or 'Community Organizing' for the Rest of Us)

What happens when those who think they are so 'enlightened' that they think they should impose their utopian fantasies on the rest of us are challenged by a peaceful popular uprising in communities around the country? Well, citizens who oppose the thousand plus page 'health care' plan that threatens the lives of the unborn and the elderly and the quality of care for everyone in between have been labeled an "angry mob" by the powers that be. So far, it seems violence has only occurred when goon squads show up to counter the citizen protesters.

Peggy Noonan writes that suddenly President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders are looking "desperate".

We have entered uncharted territory in the fight over national health care. There’s a new tone in the debate, and it’s ugly. At the moment the Democrats are looking like something they haven’t looked like in years, and that is: desperate.

.....

What the town-hall meetings represent is a feeling of rebellion, an uprising against change they do not believe in. And the Democratic response has been stunningly crude and aggressive. It has been to attack. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, accused the people at the meetings of "carrying swastikas and symbols like that." (Apparently one protester held a hand-lettered sign with a "no" slash over a swastika.) But they are not Nazis, they’re Americans. Some of them looked like they’d actually spent some time fighting Nazis.

.....

All of this is unnecessarily and unhelpfully divisive and provocative. They are mocking and menacing concerned citizens. This only makes a hot situation hotter. Is this what the president wants? It couldn’t be. But then in an odd way he sometimes seems not to have fully absorbed the awesome stature of his office. You really, if you’re president, can’t call an individual American stupid, if for no other reason than that you’re too big. You cannot allow your allies to call people protesting a health-care plan "extremists" and "right wing," or bought, or Nazi-like, either. They’re citizens. They’re concerned. They deserve respect.

Robert Hahn, writing at RedState, points out the disconnect between those in power and those they are trying to marginalize.

Many Democrats, including many editors and reporters, have come to believe that hundreds of middle-aged and older people - people with incomes and lives, and plenty else to do - have taken part-time jobs as rent-a-mobs to shill for insurance companies, or the RNC, or somebody. They think this because that is how Democrats create similar events: they pay college students or homeless people to show up at a certain place at a certain time to wave signs and put on a display for their fellow Democrats in the media, who dutifully report that the citizenry is outraged at whatever the Democrats paid them to be outraged about.

Causing the same sort of outcome among conservatives is more like herding cats. Few conservatives need your money, at least not the sort of pittance that would motivate a student or a street person. Most of them would be insulted if you offered. Having tried to organize many of these things myself, I can tell you that if conservatives care about a cause, they will show up in their own car with their own sign ready to give ‘em Hell. If they don’t care about the cause, nothing is going to get them away from their quite rewarding lives.

Let's pray that cooler heads prevail and that these confrontations don't result in a new wave of violence in our nation.

Speaking of health care, one good way to counter the dangerous fantasy that they're trying to impose on us is to present a sensible alternative like that proposed by Charles Krauthammer.

The plan is so simple it doesn't even have the requisite three parts. Just two: radical tort reform and radically severing the link between health insurance and employment.

Another way is through humor, like this ditty that borrows from a popular holiday favorite. (Hint: this time what grandma gets hit by is not a reindeer.) (Hat tip to Hugh Hewitt.)