As It Happened, the Apollo 11 Launch

Fifty seven years ago this morning, Apollo 11 lifted off on the voyage to land the first men on the Moon. Here's a replay of what it looked like on TV from ~6 min before 'til ~4 min after launch. (The video quality is somewhat degraded from that of the live TV broadcast.) The terse, crisp voice of Jack King as Apollo Launch Control added to the drama of the historic countdown. Relive the moment or experience what it was like.

 

Looking Back, Looking Forward

 We come to the end of another year. As I've noted in previous years, things seem to be getting crazier by the year. I'm not going to go through the specifics, but we all know that there has been too much violence in wars, assassinations, riots, etc. There is also too much of a tendency in some circles to try to suppress thought and speech that challenge the conventional wisdom on major cultural and political issues. This only causes deep distrust of many toward the news and entertainment media, government, academia, and other entrenched cultural institutions.

There is hope in that truth and information are like water, seeping around the attempts by government and corporate entities to censor information and commentary that varies from their preferred narrative. Continuing economic hardship and uncertainty also adds to the sense that old alliances may be breaking down and that the political and social direction of society is truly up for grabs.

The start of the second Trump Administration brought sweeping change to Washington, America, and the world. Sometimes there may have been more chaos than necessary, but the change in direction is clearly needed to reverse much of the inertia and outright corruption over the years that continues to be revealed even now.

Meanwhile, the pace of advancement and innovation in science, technology, medicine, etc. continues to accelerate. The work of SpaceX, Blue, Origin, Rocket Lab, and other companies are rapidly enabling economical access to space, new capabilities in space, and the harvesting of resources beyond Earth for the benefit of future generations. The advance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a primary focus of attention this year. AI presents tremendous opportunities yet also challenges that must be addressed as we move forward.

Looking forward to 2026, we have a lot to look forward to, good and unfortunately, bad as well. One particularly epic event could occur as early as February, when the Artemis II mission sets out to loop around the Moon. Four crewmembers (three Americans and one Canadian) will be the first humans to voyage to the vicinity of the Moon since the final Apollo lunar mission in December 1972. (Some of us have been around long enough to remember those days.) Artemis II will not only pick up where Apollo left off but will hopefully be a precursor of the age of permanent and economically sustainable human activity on and around the Moon, which in turn will lead to human expansion and settlement beyond Earth and the Moon.

January 6 will mark the Feast of the Epiphany (Jan. 6 being the traditional date of observance (aka Little Christmas, Three Kings Day). The Magi were men who studied the stars and followed one star to encounter God Become Man. May our celestial journeys now, and in the future, bring us closer to God. And may we continue to make headway in protecting life and defending liberty while respecting the dignity of every person despite our differences. And may God's blessings and peace be upon you and yours and wishing all the best in this new year of 2026 and the amazing decades to come.

As It Happened, the Apollo 11 Launch

 Fifty six years ago this morning, Apollo 11 lifted off on the voyage to land the first men on the Moon. Here's a replay of what it looked like on TV from ~6 min before 'til ~4 min after launch. (The video quality is somewhat degraded from that of the live TV broadcast.) The terse, crisp voice of Jack King as Apollo Launch Control added to the drama of the historic countdown. Relive the moment or experience what it was like.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

                                                

Today is March 17, St. Patrick's Day. Be blessed, safe, and happy while celebrating Ireland's patron saint.

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.

From the land of today's Saint, check out LiveIreland.com for webcasts of Irish music and other media direct from Ireland.

Why We March

    This is a slightly revised and updated article I first wrote and posted in 2004 at this time. The Dobbs decision overturning Roe is a historic turning point. However the importance of the March is as significant as ever.

March for Life 2018 ascending Capitol Hill on the way to the Supreme Court

On Friday, January 24, the 52nd annual March for Life will mark the anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court decisions which imposed abortion-on-demand in the United States on January 22, 1973. Once again, concerned citizens will gather for the annual March, which in recent years has usually drawn an estimated several hundred thousand participants. Now, why do so many people consider it so important to take time on a weekday to come to Washington, DC at the coldest time of the year to make their voice heard on this matter?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

These Supreme Court abortion decisions were assumed to have 'settled' the issue in our society. Yet much to the consternation of the pro-abortion establishment, the movement of concerned citizens to protect life has only grown in strength over the past fifty one years. The prolife movement has pursued multiple paths: educating the public, lobbying and litigating for change, participating in politics, and especially reaching out to help women with unplanned pregnancies.

In 2022, the most dramatic and consequential development of the last fifty years occurred. After years of battles in the US Senate over Supreme Court nominees that resulted in a Court more willing to reconsider past Court precedents, the Court Justices' Dobbs decision overturned the fictitious abortion "right" imposed by their predecessors in 1973. The decision effectively turned the abortion issue largely over to the states to decide individually, though federal involvement on either side will not cease altogether. The decision caused rejoicing by many, but anger by many others who feel threatened by the loss of what they perceived as an embedded "right". Some resorted to violence against churches and prolife pregnancy centers and threatened the safety of the Supreme Court justices and their families. Now the 2024 presidential election has resulted in the transfer of power from an administration extremely hostile to the prolife movement to new leadership that, while not perfect, is more open to supporting the cause of life and its supporters. 

The overturning of  Roe is a historic turning point, but does not mean the struggle to protect life has been won. It opens a whole new phase of engagement in political, legal, and educational efforts and requires efforts to serve women and their children together to be ramped up. And of course we must continue to march for life. The esoteric rationale of constitutional legal arguments are now stripped away, allowing more focus on the gut-wrenching reality of how every abortion is the violent destruction of a human life.

On the political front, abortion will continue to play a pivotal role in national and state elections and especially in nominations to the Supreme Court and other courts; and in the debate over health care and other public legislation. It is becoming increasingly intertwined with issues of religious and personal liberty and freedom of speech. The abortion conflict has ramped up in recent years with the release of investigative videos revealing the hideous practices of Planned Parenthood exploiting their unborn victims and the women they claim to serve in order to harvest unborn human body parts. The powers-that-be and others who want to silence the prolife movement are terrified (even if subconsciously) that the brutal reality of abortion will be exposed. Presidents, election campaigns, economic cycles, and other controversies come and go, but the struggle for life goes on. Indeed, some of the rancor and animosity in politics and society today may well be a pit-in-the-stomach fear of dealing with the stark terrible reality of this issue.

A recent poll on public attitudes on abortion finds a willingness among majorities to support common sense prolife policies. Many young people (who've lost peers they've never met) are active in prolife advocacy. This is manifested in polling results and an upsurge of  prolife activism among teens, college students, and new media savvy activists who are exposing the dark side of the abortion industry. This is much to the consternation of their professors and, in some cases, their parents. Sort of adds a new twist to some lyrics from the sixties by Buffalo Springfield:

"Young people speakin' their minds, A-gettin' so much resistance from behind."

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

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

The Turning of Another Year

So, once again we come to the end of one year and the threshold of a new year. Well, it's kept up with the other years in craziness. At the same time, 2024 may have been more pivotal in terms of the direction the nation and the world are taking. Globally, wars and conflict continued unabated. Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine continues, as does the war between Israel and terrorist organizations backed by Iran, along with other lesser known wars in Africa, the Middle East, and other places that should receive more attention than they do.

The US presidential election certainly had it's bizarre turns: two (at least) assassination attempts on Donald Trump, the sudden withdraw of Pres. Biden from the race after the June debate revealed the decline in his condition that was obvious to many for a long time, and the sudden catapulting of VP Harris into a race that she was not prepared to handle. Donald Trump's historic comeback to the presidency in spite of all the legal and other obstacles hurled at him by powerful forces marks a turning point in the direction of the nation. However, the election was about more than Trump, Biden, or Harris or any person, party, or issue. It revealed the deep distrust of many toward the news and entertainment media, government, academia, and other entrenched cultural institutions.

There is hope in that truth and information are like water, seeping around the attempts by government and corporate entities to censor information and commentary that varies from their preferred narrative. Continuing economic hardship and uncertainty also adds to the sense that old alliances may be breaking down and that the political and social direction of society is truly up for grabs.

Meanwhile, the pace of advancement and innovation in science, technology, medicine, etc. continues to accelerate. The work of SpaceX, Blue, Origin, Rocket Lab, and other companies are rapidly enabling economical access to space, new capabilities in space, and the harvesting of resources beyond Earth for the benefit of future generations.

Well, personal lives and human history are seldom phased conveniently by the calendar, and are often marked by extreme  episodes of deception and depravity, but also many examples of heroism, kindness and soaring achievement. So, may we continue to make headway in protecting life and defending liberty while respecting the dignity of every person despite our differences. And may God's blessings and peace be upon you and yours and wishing all the best in this new year of 2025 and the amazing decades to come.

As It Happened, the Apollo 11 Launch

Fifty five years ago this morning, Apollo 11 lifted off on the voyage to land the first men on the Moon. Here's a replay of what it looked like on TV from ~6 min before 'til ~4 min after launch. (The video quality is somewhat degraded from that of the live TV broadcast.) The terse, crisp voice of Jack King as Apollo Launch Control added to the drama of the historic countdown. Relive the moment or experience what it was like.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

                                               

Today is March 17, St. Patrick's Day. Be blessed, safe, and happy while celebrating Ireland's patron saint.

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.

From the land of today's Saint, check out LiveIreland.com for webcasts of Irish music and other media direct from Ireland.

The Passing of a Year

So every year at this time, I say that the year just passing has gotten crazier than the previous years, and 2023 is no exception. Globally, wars and conflict continued unabated. Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine continues, along with other lesser known wars in Africa, the Middle East, and other places that should receive more attention than they do. Then on October 7th, the heinous attack by Hamas on Israel revealed unspeakable acts of depravity, shocking much of the world.

Domestically, and in other seemingly civilized nations, it already seemed that various issues had taken on an extreme ideological grotesqueness that would be hard to push any lower, until the Friends of Hamas said "Hold my beer". The moral rot in much of the cultural establishment, but especially in many leading universities has become glaringly apparent (although already recognized by many for years).

Meanwhile, the political situation going into the presidential election year is turning quite bizarre. While the issues facing the world and the nation are most consequential, the legal and rhetorical maneuvering seems to center around the emotional reactions for and against one individual named Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the issues surrounding election process and integrity only add to the lack of confidence by many that we can be sure of fair and valid election results.

While the situation can look pretty dire, there is hope in that truth and information are like water, seeping around the attempts by government and corporate entities to censor information and commentary that varies from their preferred narrative. Continuing economic hardship and uncertainty also adds to the sense that old alliances may be breaking down and that the political and social direction of society is truly up for grabs.

And with all of the political and social upheaval going on, amazing progress continues to be made in medicine technology and other fronts. Major breakthroughs in space exploration highlight this year. One development to note is that two test flights of the SpaceX Starship, the first space vehicle to be specifically designed with human migration to places beyond Earth in mind, were conducted in Texas this year. While the results were only partially successful, much data was gathered that will lead to an increased pace of development and testing in the coming year. Meanwhile, Starship is a key element of the hardware NASA intends to use to return humans to the Moon after the long 50 year hiatus since the original Apollo Moon missions. Whether this return to the Moon can be sustained and expanded on a permanent basis will depend on ongoing developments in commercial launch and in-space technologies and operations, some of which are poised for breakthrough in 2024, and can accelerate human expansion into space. 

Well, personal lives and human history are seldom phased conveniently by the calendar, and are often marked by extreme  episodes of deception and depravity, but also many examples of heroism, kindness and soaring achievement. So, may we continue to make headway in protecting life and defending liberty while respecting the dignity of every person despite our differences. And may God's blessings and peace be upon you and yours and wishing all the best in this new year of 2024 and the amazing decades to come.

As It Happened, the Apollo 11 Launch

Fifty four years ago this morning, Apollo 11 lifted off on the voyage to land the first men on the Moon. Here's a replay of what it looked like on TV from ~6 min before 'til ~4 min after launch. (The video quality is somewhat degraded from that of the live TV broadcast.) The terse, crisp voice of Jack King as Apollo Launch Control added to the drama of the historic countdown. Relive the moment or experience what it was like.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

                                              

Today is March 17, St. Patrick's Day. Be blessed, safe, and happy while celebrating Ireland's patron saint.

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.

From the land of today's Saint, check out LiveIreland.com for webcasts of Irish music and other media direct from Ireland.

Another Crazy Yet Pivotal Year

Well, we've been seeing each year somehow get crazier than the previous year, and 2022 is no exception. As always, there are some very ominous implications, while at the same time some reasons for real hope, including a couple of corrections to wrong turns taken about fifty years ago.

The world situation grew more dark and dangerous this year as Vlad Putin indulged his fantasy of restoring Russia's imperial/Soviet expanse by invading its neighbor Ukraine. The conventional wisdom was that Russia would probably overrun Ukraine within a few days or weeks, but fierce Ukrainian resistance backed by material support from western nations has resulted in a standoff with Russian forces being pushed back closer to their border. Putin's ruthless obsession with this pursuit has raised concerns about potential nuclear confrontation to the highest it has been since the Cold War. Meanwhile, other aggressive tyrannical nations (China, Iran, etc.) have their own ambitions, and their actions may depend to some degree on the outcome of the continuing Ukrainian conflict and the world's response to it.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has served to intensify economic problems already generated by faulty policies implemented by the current administrations in the US and other countries. Particularly energy, where there is a push to reduce fossil fuel usage drastically in order to meet "net zero" carbon emission requirements. This flawed policy presumes that man-made climate change is such an imminent catastrophe, and that renewable sources (solar, wind, etc.) will suffice to provide energy needs. This assumes that the supposed catastrophe justifies the risk of great human suffering due to energy and food shortages. There is no evidence strong enough to support this. A reasonable strategy to reduce carbon emissions would rely on using cleaner fossil fuels (e.g. natural gas), nuclear, along with renewables. Longer term prospects could include nuclear fusion and collection of solar energy where it is most abundant and dependable, space.

A historic legal and cultural breakthrough occurred this year with the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision which imposed a fictitious "right " to abortion-on-demand on the whole US society. This is an objective that the prolife movement has been tenaciously working toward for fifty years. The fierce and divided reaction to the new ruling confirms that the struggle to protect vulnerable preborn human lives is far from over. The prolife movement takes its cue from the antislavery movement that struggled for generations, even centuries, to achieve its goals.

Politics and media continue to divide society. Questions of election integrity, social relations (along racial, sexual, and other categories), and media bias and manipulation are prime flash points. Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter has caused a major disruption to the conventional wisdom by revealing (via 3rd party journalists) not only media bias, but active government involvement in suppressing certain news items and opinions, crossing a clear 1st Amendment boundary. Time and space do not allow going deep into all of the issues dividing our society.

And with all of the political and social upheaval going on, amazing progress continues to be made in medicine technology and other fronts. Major breakthroughs in space exploration highlight this year. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) deployment and early observations have already begun extend our understanding of the universe, while raising new questions to ponder and investigate. Meanwhile, the Artemis I uncrewed test flight demonstrated some of the hardware NASA intends to use to return humans to the Moon after the long 50 year hiatus since the original Apollo Moon missions. Whether this return to the Moon can be sustained and expanded on a permanent basis will depend on ongoing developments in commercial launch and in-space technologies and operations, some of which are poised for breakthrough in 2023, and can accelerate human expansion into space.

Well, personal lives and human history are seldom phased conveniently by the calendar, so there's no guarantee that 2023 won't match or exceed the craziness of the last couple of years. Nevertheless, may we continue to make headway in protecting life and defending liberty while respecting the dignity of every person despite our differences. And may God's blessings and peace be upon you and yours and wishing all the best in this new year of 2023 and the amazing decades to come.

As It Happened, the Apollo 11 Launch

 Fifty three years ago this morning, Apollo 11 lifted off on the voyage to land the first men on the Moon. Here's a replay of what it looked like on TV from ~6 min before 'til ~4 min after launch. (The video quality is somewhat degraded from that of the live TV broadcast.) The terse, crisp voice of Jack King as Apollo Launch Control added to the drama of the historic countdown. Relive the moment or experience what it was like.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

                                             

Today is March 17, St. Patrick's Day. Be blessed, safe, and happy while celebrating Ireland's patron saint.

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.

From the land of today's Saint, check out LiveIreland.com for webcasts of Irish music and other media direct from Ireland.

Turning (or Careening) the Corner from One Year to the Next

 Last year, I asked if 2021 can be any more crazy than 2020. Maybe asking that question is no longer practical, with the pace and strangeness that events are happening. I'd say that the two years are probably comparable in terms of craziness. There is, at least, some glimmer of hope for things to change for the better.

The Covid pandemic that crashed on the world in early 2020 continued into 2021, with a post-holiday peak in January, a steady decline in the Spring, a surge in the Summer and Fall with the "Delta" variant, a temporary lull in early Fall and an even bigger surge at year's end with the "Omicron" variant. Meanwhile, vaccines were rapidly developed, then distributed during the year. This virus, in all its variants, was going to do what it was going to do, no matter who is in the White House or other positions of power. The surges and lulls would vary in timing in different parts of the country and world. Covid has taken a real toll, with many lives, but also many lives affected by the often stringent and sometimes contradictory efforts taken to try to  control it. The good news is that while Omicron is more contagious than previous variants, it appears to be less severe in most cases (which tends to be how pandemics tend to behave),leading to hopes that it will rapidly burnout in the population. Future variants may be expected, but if they continue to diminish in severity, Covid may become more of a manageable plague, like other diseases we've long dealt with.

Recent years have also been burdened with a pandemic of emotional melodrama, especially surrounding politics and controversial social/cultural issues. There are still many questions surrounding the last presidential election, the transfer of power, and the January 6th disruptions. Meanwhile, inflation, supply chain problems, Afghanistan, violent crime, and other troubles became the focus of 2021. Mistrust of and disagreement over the credibility of sources of information seems to be an underlying theme of current times. It is encouraging that increasing numbers of people are at least starting to question the media and cultural establishment narratives that drive much of the apparent craziness.

There is one area of great encouragement going into 2022. A combination of bold state legislative efforts and federal judicial appointments have brought us to the verge of  the Supreme Court potentially overturning the fictitious "right" to abortion-on-demand that was imposed on the nation in 1973. That will not in itself lead to full protection of the youngest human lives, but it would open a new phase  in the struggle for protection of all human life.

And with all of the political and social upheaval going on, amazing progress continues to be made in medicine, technology and other fronts. Some amazing advances in space were made this year as commercial human spaceflight advanced with crew rotations at the International Space Station, a privately funded orbital flight to raise funds for St. Jude's Children's Hospital, and several suborbital flights that included well known names among the participants. The James Webb Space Telescope was finally launched on Christmas morning, beginning a mission that will reveal more secrets of the Universe while raising many new questions. Elon Musk's company SpaceX continued rapid development of a next generation space vehicle named "Starship" at a once sleepy beach town of Boca Chica, TX. The first orbital flight of this giant vehicle could happen early in 2022 which, along with several other emerging commercial space ventures, could really accelerate the progress of human expansion into space.

Well, personal lives and human history are seldom phased conveniently by the calendar, so there's no guarantee that 2022 won't match or exceed the craziness of the last couple of years. Nevertheless, may we continue to make headway in protecting life and defending liberty while respecting the dignity of every person despite our differences. And may God's blessings and peace be upon you and yours and wishing all the best in this new year of 2022 and the amazing decades to come.

As It Happened, the Apollo 11 Launch

 Fifty two years ago this morning, Apollo 11 lifted off on the voyage to land the first men on the Moon. Here's a replay of what it looked like on TV from ~6 min before 'til ~4 min after launch. (The video quality is somewhat degraded from that of the live TV broadcast.) The terse, crisp voice of Jack King as Apollo Launch Control added to the drama of the historic countdown. Relive the moment or experience what it was like.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

                                           

Today is March 17, St. Patrick's Day. Be blessed, safe, and happy while celebrating Ireland's patron saint.

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.

From the land of today's Saint, check out LiveIreland.com for webcasts of Irish music and other media direct from Ireland.

Can 2021 Be Any More Crazy?

So every year I say something like I did last year:"Each year seems to reach peak craziness, only to be outdone by the following year." Well, 2020 has given a whole new meaning to "peak craziness". "It's 2020" became the catch-all phrase in reaction to events.

As we began the year, reports were surfacing about a respiratory related coronavirus originating in the city of Wuhan, China. While the reports sounded ominous, there have been other pandemics over the years that never seemed to really impact daily life, at least here in the United States. Well, by March, the world was definitely turned upside down by the Covid 19 coronavirus pandemic and the measures being taken to try and control it. As the disease continues to spread and vaccines and other measures are coming online to counter it, questions are raised as to how far protective measures can infringe on individual and community rights, along with what are the most reasonable and effective strategies for dealing with this situation.

Outbursts of social and racial unrest and a divisive presidential campaign and election that has raised more questions than it has apparently answered also marked this wild year. More than ever, the divisions in society are largely defined by the lack of shared confidence in sources of information, as established and alternate sources of news seem to be more about triggering emotions than in provoking thinking. Attempts to marginalize and even censor information by some social media platforms only further inflame distrust and division.

Even with all of the political and social upheaval going on, amazing progress continues to be made in medicine, technology and other fronts. Some amazing advances in space were made this year as astronauts launched into orbit from the US for the first time since 2011, robotic missions were launched toward Mars by three nations, and Elon Musk's company SpaceX continued rapid development of a next generation space vehicle named "Starship" at a once sleepy beach town of Boca Chica, TX.

Well, personal lives and human history are seldom phased conveniently by the calendar, so there's no guarantee that 2021 won't match or exceed the craziness of 2020. Nevertheless, may we continue to make headway in protecting life and defending liberty while respecting the dignity of every person despite our differences. And may God's blessings and peace be upon you and yours and wishing all the best in this new year of 2021 and the amazing decade to come.

As It Happened, the Apollo 11 Launch

Fifty one years ago this morning, Apollo 11 lifted off on the voyage to land the first men on the Moon. Here's a replay of what it looked like on TV from ~6 min before 'til ~4 min after launch. (The video quality is somewhat degraded from that of the live TV broadcast.) The terse, crisp voice of Jack King as Apollo Launch Control added to the drama of the historic countdown. Relive the moment or experience what it was like.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

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.

This ad from Guiness captures how we can be together in celebration this Saint Patrick's Day even while more distanced in the current pandemic situation.