No billboards in space

No billboards in space

I spent a summer in Washington fighting billboards (we called them "litter on a stick") but we never set our sights THIS high:

The Federal Aviation Administration proposed Thursday to amend its regulations to ensure that it can enforce a law that prohibits "obtrusive" advertising in zero gravity.

"Objects placed in orbit, if large enough, could be seen by people around the world for long periods of time," the FAA said in a regulatory filing.

Currently, the FAA lacks the authority to enforce the existing law.

For instance, outsized billboards deployed by a space company into low Earth orbit could appear as large as the moon and be seen without a telescope, the FAA said. Big and bright advertisements might hinder astronomers.

"Large advertisements could destroy the darkness of the night sky," regulators said.

I'll be amazed if capatalism can restrain itself enough to pull this off. With the Russian program chronically broke, this is one more lever they can use to get the US to pay more of the cost of the space station. Just like they used the two space tourists - notice how that has quieted down since Lance Bass got grounded?

But folks were of mixed mind on space tourism. It was perhaps unfair that a rich boy-bander cut to the front of the line for a space ticket. Hardly "The Right Stuff". The Right Hair Gel, maybe. But did it really HURT anyone? Not really, so opposition from the scientific community was muted and split.

On the other hand, lighting up the night sky with pitches for... what? What product would demand a literally global audience? I'm guessing the cola companies are already designing the satellite plans.

The live question is, how bad do we want it? This is a classic case where the self-interest of capitalism collides with the greater good. Is our government - THIS government - committed enough to science to ignore the profit motive?

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Look at the stem cell debate: this government is willing to squash both science and profit if the fundamentalists tell them to. How can we turn No Ads In Space into a religious right issue? Did Jesus say anything about it? Oh, wait; what He said has nothing to do with what James Dobson says.

Here's my modest proposal. No ads, but let Christo do some big ribbony modern art thing that a lot of people wouldn't get but would have a unique beauty. Let it would orbit the earth for a month or two then gently disintegrate in a firey re-entry. It would be like a one time global 4th of July fireworks (Guy Fawkes Day for the Brits).

Astronomers have fought losing battles against light pollution for decades, but I've never heard an astronomer argue against fireworks. My idea is intriguing, but if we lose the big battle that wouldn't be special. For now I'll settle for the occasional space station pass.

Tags: Space

Lost history: The February 2002 Quran Guantanamo incident

Lost history: The February 2002 Quran Guantanamo incident

The oft-overlooked incident, reported in February and March of 2002, concerns an incident of Quran abuse which is believed to have resulted in a formal policy by the United States regarding treatment of the Quran.

While it does not sound nearly as damning as the alleged toilet incident, it does raise an interesting question: Why has the mainstream media and the Pentagon virtually ignored the 2002 incident as a potential source for much of the current tension surrounding the treatment of the holy book?

It happened. It happened. it happened, it happened.

It happened.

Politics

Want real glamor? Trying being smart, opinionated

Want real glamour? Trying being smart, opinionated

[I took the photo down. Too many irrelevant hits.]

"Any girl can be glamorous," Hedy Lamarr said. "All you have to do is stand still and look stupid."

I like this column in today's Register, as a father and as a man:

Interesting that the author leads with Hedy Lamarr but leaves out this neat facet:

Allied subs, it seems, were wasting torpedoes. Ocean currents and evasive action worked against them. Lamarr and Antheil meant to do something about that. The solution, they reasoned, was a radio-controlled torpedo. But it would be easy for the enemy to jam a radio-control signal. So they cooked up something called "frequency-hopping." The trick was to set up a sequencer that would rapidly jump both the control signal and its receiver through 88 random frequencies. They patented the system and gave it to the Navy...

I still like Katharine Hepburn better, but Hedy Lamarr certainly met the columnists qualifications:

If we do not want our daughters to stand still and look stupid, we must show them by example that the most glamorous women in the world are those who are intelligent, independent, opinionated and ambitious.

Works for me.

Questionable Query for Quarters

Questionable Query for Quarters

I collected coins when I was very, VERY young, and I've had a lot of fun with the state quarter thing. The folder is nearly up to date but I'm missing just a few from the Philadephia mint:

Rhode Island (2001)

Mississippi (2002)

Illinois, Maine (2003)

California, Minnesota (2005)

Keep your eyes open, regular readers. Thanks to all the bank tellers and HyVee clerks who have been patient with my requests for rolls.



It also seems someone has started an anti-dime movement - but the proprietor doesn't seem to hate dimes TOO much as readers are encouraged to "SEND ME YOUR DIMES TODAY!" Presumably to keep us safe from this menace.

As a good Democrat I shouldn't say this but I really like the old Mercury dime design better than the FDR dime. There was an irony that the reverse bore a Roman fasces design: throughout World War II, this US currency depicted the symbol of Mussolini's Fascist Party!

---

Not all space geeks were at Star Wars yesterday. I got the telescope out and enjoyed the real thing. The moon was right next to Jupiter and at a nice phase. The spectacular part of full moon is not a sky thing, it's an earth thing, seeing the ground all half-lit. Look at the full moon in a telescope and it's all washed out. But a few days short of full in a small telescope you have nice shadows and get a good sense of lunar landscape, a realization that it's a PLACE with mountains and valleys and plains and craters.

Also saw a direct overhead pass of our second largest satellite, the space station. If it's clear tomorrow night just after 8:30, Iowa City eyes get another good look. Details

Tags: Iowa Space

Santorum breaks Godwin's Law

Santorum breaks Godwin's Law

As long as he doesn't start spamming me:

"What the Democrats are doing is the equivalent of Adolf Hitler in 1942 saying, 'I'm in Paris. How dare you invade me. How dare you bomb my city? It's mine.' This is no more the rule of the senate than it was the rule of the senate before not to filibuster." - Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), quoted on the Senate floor.

To refresh:

Godwin's law (also Godwin's rule of Nazi analogies) is an adage in Internet culture that was originated by Mike Godwin in 1990. The law states that: As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

There is a tradition in many Usenet newsgroups that once such a comparison is made, the thread is over and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress.

This should end the discussion, but ironically, since the topic at hand is the filibuster, discussion should therefore continue and Godwin's Law spirals off into a Moebius strip...

Politics

Larry King kept off stand in Jackson trial

Larry King kept off stand in Jackson trial

The judge in Michael Jackson’s child molestation trial ruled Thursday against allowing CNN host Larry King to testify for the defense, saying his statements would be irrelevant.

And that would be different HOW?... My nightmare is that the blog starts to resemble Larry King's old USA Today column... Has anyone else noticed Larry King's increasing resemblance to the late Harry Carey?... Didn't the bit with Larry King playing himself in a movie get old a long time ago?... Speaking of irrelevant, whatever happened to Mark Hammill? And can you keep straight whether Star Wars is Star Wars 1 or Star Wars 4?...

Loebsack's Latest

Loebsack's Latest

From potential Leach opponent David Loebsack:

Hi, everyone.

I just want to update you on my recent activities and what I will be up in the near future.

First, I continue to be impressed by the seriousness of purpose of the Democrats I encounter at every meeting I attend. There is no doubt that the activists among us are eager for change in the second district and we are all anxious to find a strong candidate to run in 2006.

The encouragement and support I have received over the course of the past several weeks has been remarkable. The responses to my initial "testing of the waters" have been overwhelmingly positive and I am now prepared to make my final decision about running sometime in the summer.

There are still a number of folks and groups I need to talk to in the coming weeks. As it turns out, I will be in D.C. mid-June to mid-July studying at the Library of Congress. I intend to take advantage of my time there to talk to Democratic Party and other interested parties to gauge possible support for this run.

Before then, I will be attending a number of central committee meetings and community events. If you know of an event I should be at, please do not hesitate to let me know by responding to this e-mail or calling me at one of the numbers below.

Finally, while I do not yet have positions on all the issues formulated, I am trying to focus primarily on domestic pocketbook issues that affect the vast majority of the people of the second district. As such, I am open to your concerns, thoughts, and ideas about jobs, education, health care, the environment, etc. At a time when most Americans feel more alienated from congress that at any time in recent history, dialogue and engagement with citizens of the district is more important than ever.

As always, thanks for all of your support and do not hesitate to be in touch.

David

P.S. Contributions are always welcome!

--
Loebsack Exploratory Committee
P.O. Box 81
Mt. Vernon, IA 52314

Politics, Iowa

Sadr urges Iraqis to trample on US flag over Koran desecration

Sadr urges Iraqis to trample on US flag over Koran desecration

How do they see us?

Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr urged Muslims across
Iraq to paint US and Israeli flags at mosque entrances for worshippers to walk on in protest at the alleged desecration of the Koran at the US detention camp in Guantanamo...

As one and the same...

(Pretty sharp, too: using the symbol that resonates in America like no other.)

Politics

Pro-Israel Lobbying Group Holds Meeting Amid Worries

Pro-Israel Lobbying Group Holds Meeting Amid Worries

"The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is accustomed to getting its way. The powerful lobby has run smoothly and quietly for half a century, successfully championing the close ties between Israel and the United States.

But this is a different time. On the eve of the organization's annual convention, traditionally a self-congratulatory event, many AIPAC supporters are wringing their hands over a federal probe into allegations that two of the group's employees may have passed classified information to Israel.

Such doubts are unusual for the organization, which has long been counted as one of the country's most effective lobbying groups. It ranked consistently among the five most influential interest groups in Fortune magazine's poll of Washington insiders (alongside such better-known lobbies as AARP and the National Rifle Association). A recent survey by the National Journal ranked AIPAC No. 2 among Democratic lawmakers and No. 4 among Republicans.

Money is the main reason. AIPAC takes pains to say that it does not contribute funds directly to candidates for federal office, and that it does not rate or endorse them. It constantly updates its 100,000 members on lawmakers' views of Israel and maintains close ties with a network of wealthy individuals and political action committees that regularly pour millions of dollars into the political process."

A rare direct statement. Normally one can't discuss Jewish political influence, especially in the context of money, without being accused of anti-Semitism. Discussion of Judaism, money, and behind the scenes influence invokes a lot of very ugly and very ancient stereotypes and hatreds and I understand that.

Let me be very clear. I have nothing against anyone's FAITH. I have a lot of problems with the policies of ISRAEL. And we can't honestly discuss American policy toward that country without acknowledging that such policy is directly rooted in this. The US has a 60 year policy of Israel Right Or Wrong because - simple statement of fact - pro-Israel Jewish people in the US write a disproportionate amount of political checks and are disproportionately settled in large states (New York, Illinois, Florida) that have traditionally been close in presidential elections.

In recent years this has been reinforced by the strangest of allies: the fundamentalist right, who sees the restoration of the Israeli state as a sign of the Second Coming. I find this support even more offensive - in fact the very implications are far more anti-Semitic than any criticism of Israeli policy could be.

In any case we need to examine the influence of the Israel lobby more closely now that our Israel policies are the greatest threat to our national security.

Interestingly this comes at the same time that Israel is lobbying for the release of Jonathan Pollard:

The White House yesterday said that convicted spy Jonathan Pollard should remain in jail, rejecting efforts by top Israeli officials to win release of the ex-U.S. Navy intelligence analyst convicted of spying for Israel in the 1980s.

Jewish groups in Washington, including the American Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith International and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, have taken the stance that Pollard's penalty exceeded what others have received and that he should be released after serving nearly 20 years.

I hate to have to say this but bravo to Bush for keeping him locked up. But here's a twist:

Earlier this month, Pollard presented a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court to be recognized as a prisoner of Zion. Pollard, a U.S.-born Jew who was granted Israeli citizenship in 1998, said in his petition that he had been the victim of both physical and mental torture during his lengthy imprisonment.

That's a nice dodge. First you betray your trust and country, then you defect to the country you spied for and claim you're a victim of religious oppression. Now that's, if I may borrow a phrase, chutzpah! Again. This isn't about faith. This is about the policies of a FOREIGN government and how those policies harm us.

I await someone's Sister Souljah Moment with the Israel lobby.

---

Meanwhile, in Israel-Palestine proper, the Dead Sea is drying up. And it's not completely unrelated:

Gotlieb and others said the traditional Zionist dream to "make the desert bloom" has to be updated to reflect the scarcity of resources in a more densely populated country. She pointed to the reserve's neighbor, Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and said it was no longer appropriate for residents there to use natural spring water to tend fruit groves and a botanical garden with more than 800 species of exotic plants in the middle of the desert. Of the 3 million cubic meters of water that flow from Ein Gedi's four springs, not a drop reaches the Dead Sea anymore, she said.

Politics

Pregnant student banned from graduation walks stage anyway

Pregnant student banned from graduation walks stage anyway

I picked this up third-hand from Amanda and Feministing but the hypocrisy factor is such that it deserves wider note:

Alysha Cosby waited four years to hear her name called at her high school graduation.

When it wasn't, she took matters into her own hands.

After the last graduate was asked to come forward to receive his degree at St. Jude Educational Institute's commencement Tuesday night, Cosby announced her own name and walked across the stage.

Cosby, who is pregnant, was told in March that she could no longer attend school, due to safety concerns. School officials also told her to complete her class work at home and said she could not participate in graduation...

The father of Cosby's child also is a senior at the school. He was allowed to participate in graduation.

Rift over recruiting at public high schools

Rift over recruiting at public high schools

The No Child Left Behind (sic) Act requires that schools receiving federal funding must release the names of its students to recruiters. Some feel that's an invasion of privacy prompted by a war effort that has largely divided the American public. Others say barring recruiters is an infringement of free speech - and a snub to the military, particularly in a time of war.

Garfield High School took a decisive step last week with a vote of 25 to 5 to adopt a resolution that says "public schools are not a place for military recruiters."

All this comes as recruiters struggle to meet enlistment goals...

Frist Implodes on Senate Floor

Frist Implodes on Senate Floor

GOP Hypocrisy Watch:

SEN. SCHUMER: Isn’t it correct that on March 8, 2000, my colleague voted to uphold the filibuster of Judge Richard Paez?

SEN. FRIST: The president, the um, in response, uh, the Paez nomination - we’ll come back and discuss this further. … Actually I’d like to, and it really brings to what I believe - a point - and it really brings to, oddly, a point, what is the issue. The issue is we have leadership-led partisan filibusters that have, um, obstructed, not one nominee, but two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, in a routine way.

Politics

Newsweek Lutefisk Story Sparks Fury Across Volatile Midwest

Newsweek Lutefisk Story Sparks Fury Across Volatile Midwest

Koran flushing may be deliberate...

Decorah, IA - The debris-strewn streets of this remote Midwestern hamlet remain under a tense 24-hour curfew tonight, following weekend demonstrations by rock- and figurine-throwing Lutheran farm wives that left over 200 people injured and leveled the Whippy Dip dairy freeze. The rioting appeared to be prompted, in part, by a report in Newsweek magazine claiming military guards at Spirit Lake’s notorious Okoboji internment center had flushed lutefisk down prison toilets...

... but lutefisk flushing could just be an honest mistake.

How To Kill The Messenger and Get Away With It

How To Kill The Messenger and Get Away With It

The initial report by Newsweek, in respect to the Koran being desecrated, is correct. It has happened and isn’t a new story. But it is a new chance for the White House to shift blame for their own failed policies to the media.

Media control is a big part of this administration. What’s the easiest way to discredit a truthful report? Easy, just offer a truthful statement that supports the story, and then lie about having told the truth in the first place. Then focus all the attention on the lie and claim the whole story is wrong.

The wingers ranting about Newsweek sound to me like OJ loudly proclaiming his innocence, when all he ever was "Not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt". But the principle of double jeopardy doesn't apply to the media and I strongly suspect new evidence will prove the point.

Politics

The Jolly Green Giant - What's wrong with the David McCulloughs of history

What's wrong with the David McCulloughs of history

An interesting look at popular published history that addresses lots of the barriers I hit in the process of crashing and burning in my academic career:

A number of our own practices lead us away from engaging the public as we should. I've seen students entering graduate school aspiring to write like Arthur Schlesinger, only to be shunted into producing pinched, monographic studies. I've seen conferences full of brilliant minds unable to find an interesting presentation to attend that isn't literally read off the page in a soporific drone. We write too much for each other—and, as we do, a public hungry for good history walks into Barnes & Noble and gets handed vapid mythmaking that uninformed critics ratify as "magisterial" or "definitive."

Thankfully, historians now seem to be recognizing all this as a problem. At one point, many academics seemed to consider popularity a first step into the Hades of commercialization and dumbing down. But today, most of my peers, myself included, seem eager to publish with trade presses, to write op-ed pieces about our research, or to appear on NPR and Charlie Rose—not just because we want the ego boost (though who wouldn't?), but because we enjoy discovering new audiences who respond intelligently to our ideas.

It also provides enough suggestions to fill up anyone's summer reading list.

Frist to Open with Priscilla Owen Weds. Morning

Frist to Open with Priscilla Owen Weds. Morning

It's nuclear option day: or, as Bush would say nuculer option day.

I'm nervous. Filibuster is inside baseball and if the Dems follow through with dilatory action to shut down the senate, we can VERY easily be portrayed as the bad guys and gals.

This is a battle we lost November 2nd - and we can't win the long-range fight without more seats.

As usual I'm naysaying without answers.

Politics

Cyclists push pedals to work

Cyclists push pedals to work

Local bicycle enthusiasts are encouraging people to find the youthful joy of bike riding by celebrating national Bike to Work Week through Friday.

HA! That's EVERY week for me...

Experts and novices are asked to head to work on two wheels and take part in a series of events this week encouraging bicycle use as a mode of transportation.

"Iowa City has a great population that regularly bikes to work," said Mark Wyatt of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. "We have about 2.5 percent that bike to work, not including college students who regularly use bicycles for transportation."

Iowa

Harry Potter and the Half-Wit Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Wit Prince

"I wish I could just wave a magic wand and lower the price at the pump,' Bush said. 'I'd do that.'"

He keeps using this line over and over again. Makes me wonder if the book (!) he was pictured with was an advance copy of Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, rather than Tom Wolfe's academia bodice-ripper (well, low-riding jeans un-zipper) I Am Charlotte Simmons.

A spell for reducing Muggle fuel prices would be relatively useless in a world of flying brooms, but I suspect the phrase might be reducto petroleum.

Politics

Håppi Syttendë Måï

Håppi Syttendë Måï



Break out your copy of "Fargo" and pass the lutefisk. Pass it as far away as possible, I'll save my appetite for the kolaches on Thursday.

How is Truth Irrelevant?

How is Truth Irrelevant?

The blogosphere and commercial press are up in arms today about Newsweek's reports of Koran desecration at Gitmo. Newsweek has retracted the report following riots across the Middle East. The call is out for a full denial - which from a prior restraint standpoint is really scary. But this blogger captures the rightgeist perfectly:

Whether Americans flushed the Koran down the toilet is irrelevant. Newsweek should not have reported it, even if true. It’s common sense, people. Those journalists knew how Muslims would react! Why would you hurt your own country and risk more deaths just to report this “fact?” To what end???

America-hating media!

You report the truth to keep us honest. How is violating the principles America supposedly stands for "irrelevant"? And yes, I hate that any American would treat someone else's book of faith callously.

Personally? After Abu Gharib, I believe it, and no denial from Newsweek will convince me otherwise. If some other journalist can prove it, then frankly we're getting what we deserve.

Also worth noting: in the riots, protestors burned American and Isreali flags together. They see us as one. I've been saying it for years: this is about us sticking our noses in a part of the world we're not wanted, and it's about Israel, Israel, Israel. The interests of America (not getting blown up) no longer coincide with the interests of Israel (stealing Palestinian land), and we really need a divorce if we're ever going to get out of this.

Politics