Everyone who knows me knows that I live and breathe my profession – space exploration. It has not been an easy time for those of us who chose this path. Friends and colleagues of mine have suffered or are facing layoffs as the Shuttle Program ramps down and the Constellation Program is finally terminated. Unfortunately, […]
Aid for Takumi
A close friend brought this story to my attention to help a friend of hers. Let’s see if we can use the power of the Internet to do some good. Takumi was a graduate student in Japan, taking care of his parents and younger sibling when not in class, until a series of debilitating symptoms […]
Help Doctors Without Borders Help Haiti
I hold Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the highest regard because of the good work they do around the world to provide medical care to those in crisis. They are also one of the most effective charity organizations, with administrative costs of only one percent. Please, help them help those who cannot provide […]
Ted Olson’s argument for gay marriage
The Conservative Case For Gay Marriage by Ted Olson is a must-read, no matter where you side on the issue. And I’m not just saying this because I agree with every word. 🙂 Olson’s article in Newsweek is a window into the case he is about to make against Proposition 8 in California. It is […]
The hysteria over Interpol
Some conservative bloggers and talking heads, including Glenn Beck and Newt Gingrich, have accused President Obama of “ceding American sovereignty” over an executive order granting Interpol the same immunities and privileges granted other public international organizations with offices here in the US. This practice is an outgrowth of Ronald Reagan granting Interpol immunity from prosecution […]
The Science, Problems, and Politics of Climate Change
With the Copenhagen conference and “Climategate,” the Internet and the media are abuzz with climate change. I think more rational voices are being drowned out, though, by the bickering between those that have become polarized in the political debate. (Gee, does that sound familiar?) The lines between good science, good problem solving, and good policy […]
The adaptive approach to missile defense
I still hear from some corners that this administration “abandoned” our allies in Europe by canceling the Ground-based Midcourse Defense silos in Poland and X-band radar site in the Czech Republic proposed by the Bush Administration. The administration, especially Defense Secretary Gates, makes the argument that they’ve traded an unproven capability for one that can […]
Eikenberry weighs in on Afghanistan
At the risk of giving some of my readers a heart attack, I’m going to cite a Fox News article, because I think it provides the best summation I’ve found yet. It has been reported that the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, has expressed to the President serious reservations about sending additional troops to […]
No room for moderates and independents?
Republican candidate for New York District 23, Dede Scozzafava, recently pulled out of the race. She had come under withering attacks from Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman and his supporters, including Sarah Palin, for not being “conservative enough” because of her pro-choice, pro-gay marriage stance on social issues, ties to organized labor, and support for […]
Freedom to criticize under attack
If you want to see what stifling free speech really looks like, examine the case of Simon Singh. I had the honor of seeing him speak at the Museum of Natural Science here in Houston once, so I’ll get my own bias in his favor out of the way up front. He’s a real scientist […]