Jocks v. Nerds - Space Edition

I've been meaning to write about this for awhile, ever since NASA announced a month or so ago that they were implementing a three-stage program of space exploration in the 21st century. The program, Constellation, goes a little something like this:

1. Incorporate new technology into equipment to be tested during extended space flights.

2. Return man to the Moon and create a "Moon base."

3. Send human beings to land on Mars.

It's a cool, carefully calculated plan following the scientific method. Baby steps into the final frontier, testing equipment and strategies for each following stage until we land on the Red Planet. But not everyone with space cred is excited by this plan.

Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the Moon, wants to forgo the return to the Moon and just go for the big prize of landing on Mars. Essentially, his thinking is "we already did this - let's go after the unknown again and 'Boldly Go'." As Robert Zubrin, president of The Mars Society quipped in a CNN article about the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing:

"This idea that you have to know how to do it before you can commit yourself to the program is completely false...We didn't know that we could do Lewis and Clark successfully before we set them out."

And so here we see one of nature's timeless struggles played out - The Jocks v. The Nerds. The Nerds want to follow the scientific method and play it by the book, learning and growing to the eventual goal. Learn all the information, make a plan, enact - classic Scientific Method. The Jocks want the ball - they want to explore space, not study collect data, waiting and waiting until it's deemed perfectly safe (or as close as one can get strapping oneself to a missile) to proceed.

Now, while I like to think of myself as a "child of both worlds," I'm with the Space Jocks on this one. Look at the Constellation program's modeling - it's a higher tech Apollo program, and as noble as its aims may be...that's really lame. It's been 40 years since we landed on the Moon, and the best we can come up with is the same thing as before, but with airbags and cupholders? I like the idea of a "Moon base," but you're telling me we can't do both at once, sending humans to colonize the Moon while sending others our beyond her orbit? This slow and steady crap isn't cool anymore - if it ever was. President Kennedy set a deadline and pushed us to the lunar body. That's the spirit we need to move forward in.

We've known the geography of our own planet for so long now, I wonder if we as a species have gotten so bogged down in the science and study and safe comfort of our desk chairs that we have forgotten how to explore in the tradition of Polo, Columbus and Magellan, of Lewis and Clark, of Glenn, Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin. Get out of the labs boys and girls, it's time to be heroes for a generation again. It's not just about going - of course we'll get there someday. It's about the unknown and feeling the rush, the excitement of not knowing what will or could happen. It's about time we rediscover our need to "Boldly Go."

UPDATE: Lane Wallace over at The Atlantic has another take on NASA, the Moon and Mars, and space exploration, and asks why it needs to be exciting. I started about it earlier, but let me elaborate.

We want our heroes - people who seem courageous because of their actions. The greatest source of fear is in that of the Unknown, and the conquering of that fear is where Man can most greatly shine - our love of adventure, our passion to understand and accomplish what before we could not, our mortality. And that is why it automated robots and drones won't cut it, there isn't that in sitting behind a computer watching a streaming feed. For some that is enough, but for the Alphas, the Gamers, the Jocks - it will never replace "doing." Society idolizes those who go to the limit at risk of their own mortal lives and live to tell the tale. It inspires us and brings us hope. And that's why space exploration needs to be "exciting" - not because of money, or that people are sheep - but because this is one of the few things left that can be romanticized. We want or stories, our history, our legends. We need figures to inspire a new generation to continue what three men did walking on a dusty rock did 40 years ago after an incredible, uncertain journey. We need heroes.

Hiatus

I apologize for not having blogged at all in the past week, but I'm moving to just outside Philadelphia later today and needless to say it's kinda hectic. So consider this brief hiatus vacation time or go read the links - the world stops for no man.

A Thought For Edward Kennedy

"Lay your hands on my mane so that I can feel you are there and let us walk like that.” ~ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Chapter 14

Bolt Strikes Twice - 19.19

Just unbelievable. Broke both of his own world records by the same margin too. The guys at PTI on ESPN believe he's the best athlete in the world right now, a combination of charisma, the pure love and joy he takes in his sport, his incredible talent and ability to perform on the big stage.



Also, if you want some great analysis of Bolt's runs (and other incredible feats in sport), head on over to The Science of Sport. As they note, Bolt has now won 5 golds in 5 major competitions in the past year, and had the opportunity to win a sixth in the relay later this week.

Good thing he has these:

Public Option Spark Notes

Via Yglesias, Nicholas Beaudrot explains the public option by doing what Team Obama should have done in the first place. If I were the President, I would be sending this out to every talking head I know. Granted, right now that includes only Whalen and AJJ, but dream big. Bigger version here.

My Quick and my Fast had a baby named BOLT

Unbelievable. Much love to Tyson Gay though, who ran the best race he's ever had and broke the American record. Also, it's great to see Asafa Powell place on this stage, after so many have labelled him as one who can't perform when it matters on the big stage.

Fries with that, Commissioner?

Via Ecocomics, a genius post about superhero brand franchising, But more importantly, I felt like this was just too good not to show to others:

Oedipus Bush

Via The Daily Dish, Patrick Appel highlights Barton Gellman's revelation in the Washington Post about Cheney and Bush's relationship during Act II:

“In the second term, he felt Bush was moving away from him,” said a participant in the recent gathering, describing Cheney’s reply. “He said Bush was shackled by the public reaction and the criticism he took. Bush was more malleable to that. The implication was that Bush had gone soft on him, or rather Bush had hardened against Cheney’s advice. He’d showed an independence that Cheney didn’t see coming. It was clear that Cheney’s doctrine was cast-iron strength at all times — never apologize, never explain — and Bush moved toward the conciliatory.”

While I will never go as far as to say that none of the past eight years was his fault, I think some day we will find that George W. Bush was the unlikely king who was used as a front for the far more insidious motives of his most trusted friends and advisors.

Not quite Disney movie worthy, but I think the ancient Greeks would have enjoyed it.

"Gotcha" Journalism, Lies, and "The List"

It's this kind of fear-mongering by Fox and other conservative mouthpieces that lead to the Nazi/SS/Socialism/Red Scare stuff showing up at the health care town halls. Not only that, it's presupposed by "gotcha" journalism tactics, which of course always paint such a clear picture of the complexity of truth for viewers. Of course the White House doesn't delete or alter the e-mails (unlike some) because, oh yeah, IT'S ILLEGAL! But that doesn't necessarily imply that they're collecting names to stalk you with.

I mean maybe they are, and when someone shows me some evidence that I should suspect people are being targeted, then I'll jump right on board. But it's the hypocrisy of those who claim to be these big "free speech/Constitution/Bill of Rights advocates" making such a fuss now when a certain former administration was doing it before covertly and illegally (unless of course you consider Executive Orders of such things to make them legal - because "Because I Said So" makes me feel so much more confident about my government).

I wish people upset about this would stop and think about it. How many of them regularly receive emails from some member of African or Middle Eastern royalty asking them to hold said royalty's fortunes in exchange for their bank info and Social Security codes? How do you think this "royal member" got your email address? And you're worried about the government knowing your email address so that, despite any real proof of them doing so, can stalk you and limit your free speech as an enemy of the state? What is more disturbing to you: the fact the government knows how to contact you, or that anyone who feels like posing as a Saudi prince to extort money from you has the ability to?

In the words of the great 21st-century post-modernist poet and philosopher Sarah Palin:

"Stop making stuff up!"

(Hat Tip: Patrick Appel at The Daily Dish)

Video of the Day

On Air Travel

I don't fly much. But yesterday I had an interview outside Philly, so I flew down in the morning for it and back up in the evening. A few thoughts:

+ Manchester Airport is definitely a good alternative to Logan in Boston. I recommend it.

+ I'm pretty sure treating people like cattle is how Southwest Airlines got it's name.

+ I have never once had flight plans that involve passing through/flying from Philadelphia and not had delays. I think this is what Barack Obama would describe as a "teachable moment."

+ The back of my boarding pass said something along the lines of "Southwest Airlines offers so many non-stop flights to multiple locations, you could consider it your own corporate jet." People who fly corporate jets don't wait for delayed connecting flights to show up to take them to Manchester. I'm just saying.

+ As my return flight row-mates (including the very witty salesman at the aisle and incredibly pretty doctoral student between us) I think will agree, alcohol definitely makes people friendlier. Obama knew what he was doing with the "Beer Summit."

+Albany sucks as much to fly over as it does in person.

All I Ever Learned In School...

I can pretty accurately say that anything I learned about U.S. health care policy (or health care policy in general) I learned from Alex Whalen at BU. I can also say that anything I learned about how politics and media interact I learned from Alex Whalen. Therefore, you should read this post at Alex's recently renamed website, Crack Brain Zealot For Democracy.

Dr. Health Care or: How I Learned to Stop Hating MSNBC and Love Rachel Maddow

I've been wondering who would take up the mantle of Walter Cronkite and real journalism. Looks like we found our girl:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Big Hat Tip: Alex Whalen)

Health Care and the Generational War

Josh Marshall at TPM has a very interesting observation about the CNN poll from this morning that 50% of those polled supported health care reform, with 45% in opposition. The money quote:

There's a generational divide hovering around the age of 50, with most people younger than 50 supporting the president and those over 50 opposing him.

It's an interesting number since -- not to put too fine a point on it -- people over 50 are disproportionately people who already have guaranteed single-payer government health care. Why that would be is a whole other question in itself.But my sense is that this is less a matter of experiences with health care per se than it is a 'mapping' onto the health care debate of the generational divide that characterized the 2008 election.

Video of the Day

I've been sitting on this one for awhile, but here it is.

SUPER RECAP BLOG POWER POST - GO!!!

I've been bad about keeping up with things here as of late, and there has been a lot going on. So what to do?

SUPER RECAP BLOG POWER POST - GO!!!

+ The health care reform thing is getting messy, and from what I gather both sides are to blame. The GOP has called in the Fox/Tea Party crowd to disrupt town hall meetings held by congressional members, and while it is creating the media exposure they wanted I'm pretty sure this one will come back to bite them in the ass. The tighter they tie themselves to the radical right, the tougher its gonna be to swing back to the center when elections roll around. As for Obama and the Dems, I think they have done a pretty lame job about framing this whole thing, which is weird considering how well they played "narrative-over-news-cycle" during the election. Also, they really haven't utilized their Obama for America tool until now so I think Barack may be willing to break out the big gun on this one. The MSM seems to worry he might not pull this off, but I think this Chuck Todd interview (Hat Tip: TPM) shows where Obama's head is at. There will be reform before the end of the year.

+BTW, the local Worcester Telegram & Gazette made it to TPM's frontpage for all the wrong reasons. Haha, any of you that thought Massachusetts is a "liberal bastion" obviously have never been to where I grew up.

+ President Clinton still has his mojo, even though former UN Ambassador John Bolton thinks he just mortgaged the ranch to North Korea. No matter who's right, this video seems to make it all better for me.

+ Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight has a great post up about the inconvenient truth of claiming to be from the party of fiscal conservatism but still being a neo-con Republican.

+ Ahmadinejad was sworn in as Iran's president, but as Robert Gibbs can tell you, that doesn't mean he was elected.

+ The Birther Queen is crazy. Really.

And lastly, my favorite story of the past 24 hours.

+ I saw this last night as I went to bed, and even in my booze-induced weariness I could tell this girl is an idiot. Andrew and friends agree.

Listen honey: it sucks for all of us recently-graduated-unemployment-"victims" right now, but this is how life works. I've been where you are - it took me a few months to get myself used to the fact that this "finding a job" thing works on its own time and not mine. I was mad at BU because I felt like they did nothing to help me out of this spot it dumped me into after graduation. I lived in a constant state of frustration. Heck, even now i still get frustrated and nervous. But it goes away with time, and you're doing a disservice to yourself and the rest of our generation by throwing this legal temper tantrum. You didn't pay Monroe College to get you a job, you paid them for a degree. That degree is now yours to do with as you please, and my advice: this lawsuit is not the best use of it.

The Constitution says "the pursuit of happiness," not that happiness itself is guaranteed for you. That's up for you to find, and you won't find it where you're looking right now.