Space

What gets you fired up?  What really interests you?  Is it a hobby, or your family, your job, or losing yourself in literature?
What is it?

When I was just 5 years old, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.  The TV coverage was grainy and black and white, but we still sat there mesmerized.  I still remember that day.
A few years later, the Apollo program ended, partly due to the disinterest of the American public.  I never lost interest.

In October of 1975, my grandmother took my two brothers and I to Florida for a long weekend.  It was a great trip that included Disney World (newly opened at that time), and the Kennedy Space Center.  My grandmother was as hooked on space as I would become, and I credit her with keeping me interested and enthused about the possibilities.  We toured the entire facility, and I was completely amazed at the enormity of the vehicle assembly building.  Little things, like the fact that the building had it's own interior weather, at times producing a fine rain inside, or so we were told.
I was completely hooked.  The only let down was that nothing was going on.  Nothing was being worked on.  The Shuttle was still being designed and built, years from flight.

But I waited for the day that it would fly.  I watched every update, and every launch and landing that I could.  When my grandmother would visit on weekends, she would wake me up if there was an early morning launch.  Just me and her sometimes.  Not everyone was interested.

The shuttles have been retired now, and the future seems to be private companies taking over.  At least for low earth orbit projects.
At first, I was enthused by Burt Rutan, and his Spaceship One.  It was exciting to see them become the first private company to reach the barrier of space.  But after selling out to Richard Branson, they have been slow to fulfill their stated promise.

I've been following Space X since I heard about them, before their first aborted launch of the now mothballed Falcon 1.  I watched them launch 3 successive failures.  But each one built on the previous lessons.
Tomorrow, they launch a Dragon capsule to the ISS for the third time.  Will it become routine?  Will those who follow them lose interest?  I know that I won't.  There are too many milestones in the near future to look forward to, including the launch of private citizens within just a couple of years.

Regardless of who is funding the project, what country or company, I will always watch the launches.  I'll always watch the coverage and landings.  And, when possible, I'll look up into the night sky, to catch a glimpse of them going by.

What will the Government do with our guns?

I have hesitated to post anything about the ongoing gun debate, but decided to weigh in before the President has his say tomorrow.
The fear that seems to be rampant among the gun rights crowd is amazing.  There is a total disconnect with reality when it comes to what the President can do, what he will want to do, and what the fearful think he will do.

What can he do?  Not a lot.  By his use of executive orders, he may be able to put a hold on the sale of large magazines.  He may be able to put stricter controls on the approval process in the purchase of a firearm.  We won't know till tomorrow, but rest assured, anything he proposes for an executive order will be legal.  Contrary to the extremists views, he's not a tyrannical dictator.

What will he want to do?  Who knows.  In his first term as President, Mr. Obama did nothing to restrict gun ownership.  In fact, he signed legislation that allowed the carrying of firearms in National Parks and Amtrak trains.  Does he want to "ban" guns?  I don't know.  But he seems like a fairly intelligent fellow, so I seriously doubt that he would do that.

What do the fearful masses think he will do?  Well that's a fairly easy one.  If you take a look at conservative websites or even facebook, those who favor unfettered 2nd amendment rights, think that the President will ban all firearms, and use the military to go house to house to round up your weapons. There is no middle ground; you either can have any weapon you please, or the government will take them all away.  And that's because we now live under a tyrannical dictatorship.  I'm not sure if we live in a Marxist, or Communist, or Atheist, or Muslim, or Socialist, or Kenyan tyrannical dictatorship, but I'm sure that those in the know will clarify it for us soon.

1/9/13 - Reposting

1/9/13

One of the most frustrating trends that seemed to mushroom during the last election cycle, was the proliferation of hateful posts on facebook.  I'm talking about posts that are re-posted over and over, and have little, if any validity.  Of course, we live in a free society with freedom of expression, and I'm not coming out in favor of any kind of censorship.
But, would it hurt to at least look into the truth of what you're posting?
So many posts could be easily debunked with a little research, yet it seems like very few are willing to do this.  I've taken it upon myself to do the research and report my findings to those who have posted these things.  If they're a friend, they usually respond that they didn't realize that is was fake, untrue, exaggerated, racist etc.  And then the next day they post another one.
If I'm not friends with the poster, I'm usually met with outright hate.  I don't know what I'm talking about.  Snopes is known to be wrong.  Snopes is controlled by Soros.  The liberal media can't be trusted.  You get the picture.
Another trend is admitting it's untrue, but saying they agree with the sentiment.  Take the case of the former Marine who volunteered his services as an unpaid, unarmed guard to an elementary school in California.  He stood in front of the school in his fatigue uniform, and posed for pictures for the media, telling them that he was a former Sgt. who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The school, for some unknown reason, did not vet his credentials (just think about the can of worms that this could have opened).  After the story ran locally and the facts began to become known, the school asked him not to come back.
But the story took off on the internet.  On facebook, a poster announced how the Marine Corps was going to prosecute him for wearing his uniform incorrectly, and that he faced jail time - all because he wanted to help protect the children.  People were asked to re-post the story to protest the injustice.
In reality, he never served overseas, had only attained the rank of Private First Class (E2), and was discharged after less than a year of service.
Once I pointed out the facts, including links to actual news stories, there were those who said it didn't matter.  The former Marine should still be honored for doing the right thing, not shamed for lying, stealing glory, or just wanting to be famous.
This scenario played out more than 5 times in a matter of days, with the same story, and I presented the truth in a respectful manner each time.  I know the folks meant well, but c'mon, you can at least read the comments where more than one person has pointed out the stories short comings.
Since then I've been doing this more often.  It's hard to stop myself from doing it.  I feel better when I've exposed a little truth or common sense.  The alternative is to cringe, or ultimately "un-friend" someone, an act which I've sadly had to do.

Old thoughts on Immigration Reform

I've started this blog at the urging of my wife, who thought this would be a better outlet than facebook, for my point of view.  Of course after starting it, I need something to write and to be honest I'm going to cheat on the first one.  So here's something I wrote a while ago concerning Immigration reform.  The subject hasn't gotten much attention lately due to fiscal cliffs and mass shootings, but is bound to come up again in the coming year.

Thanks for reading!

Immigration Reform

How do we take care of the illegal immigration problem in this country?

It will take a many faceted approach, that will not make everyone happy, and will probably anger everyone in some respect.

1.  A national identity card.

     As much as some will see this as a racist/Nazi approach, it is essential.  All residents of the USA will be required to carry a national ID.  It will state whether the

     bearer is a natural citizen, naturalized, legal resident, or seeking residency.  The last will be for currently illegal immigrants.  More on that later.

          A.  Whenever a police officer, local, state or federal asks for identification, this card must be produced.  As we live in the digital age, a quick check will tell 

                whether the card is legitimate (as it will be a photo id, with other identifying information).  If you have left your card at home, the same check should be able

                to tell if you are telling the truth.  Of course we all know how many mistakes can be made, but hopefully the program will improve with use.

                If you get pulled over for a moving violation, the officer always asks for license, registration and insurance.  He would now also ask for federal ID.

          B.  Visitors from abroad would be required to show their passport as proof of their legal status.  This would not vary from current law.

2.  Fining Employers

     For more than 20 years, it has been the responsibility of employers to certify that their employees are legally able to work in the United States.  Sadly, this

     doesn't seem to be regularly enforced.  If the federal government would impose heavy fines for knowingly employing illegal workers, the demand for such

     labor would begin to dry up.  By instituting the above federal ID card, this process would be strengthened.  Employers would have no excuse for hiring illegals, 

     and would be penalized if they did.

     As the jobs evaporate for illegals, many would return to their home countries.

3.  Illegal immigrants .

     Many here illegally have been here for years, have had families and put down roots.  Although they have broken the law, we cannot easily deport 10-12 

     million people.  It just isn't practical.

          A.  All residents of the country will be required to apply for, and possess a national ID card, as stated above.

          B.  If said person is an illegal immigrant in good standing (ie, no felony or misdemeanor convictions, aside from entering the country illegally), they would

                be able to apply for legal residency.  This would include a fine for their illegal entry into the country, but would provide them with legal status.

          C.  If their status is not acceptable, they would be deported.  

          D.  Once legal residency is established, the immigrant would be given a timetable for attaining naturalized citizen status.  Legal residency would not be

                given to those just seeking temporary work status.  They would have to be genuine in their intent to become citizens.

          E.  If the immigrant does not fulfill the requirements for citizenship in the time allotted, their legal resident status would be revoked, and they would be 

                deported.

          F.  All efforts must be made to keep families together.  Many illegal immigrants have children who are U.S. citizens.  This is a matter of birth, and it is not 

                the fault of the children.  Birthright citizenship is a legal right in this country.  Just ask John McCain or Barack Obama.

          G.  A former illegal immigrants ID card would specify that they are seeking legal residency.

4.  If all of the above were implemented, the illegal population, in my opinion, would rapidly decline.  There would be no need to station federal or National Guard 

     troops along the border, or build a wall that we could never properly maintain or man.