Originally, I intended to send this as an email to Tamra of Lucidnation.
(Check out her Blog... if you Appreciate Timely, Honest, Intelligent, Biting and Hit-the-Nail-on-the-Head Social and Political Commentary.) She had penned another brilliant Blog regarding her perceptions, experiences and feelings from the excruciatingly heart-breaking GWB selection up to last night's Obama Victory.
But, as I was proofreading it, I decided I'd like to share it with all of you.
T:
I can relate.
The election results of 2000 left me utterly shocked and horrified.
("How could so many people be so dumb?")
And, when GWB pulled the smash-and-grab of 2004, I was teetering on suicidal.
("No... Not Again." The whole situation seemed pointless. Sadly, our gullible fellow Americans fell for the flim-flam. Our country was being manipulated by fear-mongers and diving towards disaster.)
"Hmm... If not suicide, then I'd figure out a way to... Well, never mind."
Thankfully, I've a couple of beloved people in my life that I couldn't do such a selfish thing to.
O.K... Nix removing myself. Nix tempting the Secret Service have a go at it.
How to Survive the next 4 years of Yee-Haw Hell?
I clung for dear Life to the only thing left... HOPE.
Yesterday - Hopeful as I was - I emailed my close friends and family to say that, depending upon Tuesday's election outcome...
I'd either be making a spectacle of myself - jumping up-and-down, deliriously happy, embracing total strangers on the street...
Or, I'd be tearfully reviewing one-way airline tickets to the U.K.
News of Barack's (and America's) Landslide Victory spontaneously erupted on the street via the sounds of jubilant screaming from seen and unseen people for blocks all around me... the whooping and hollering multiplied and spread out in all directions. Car horns began to honk in celebratory morse code and wail. ("Whew! Can't really afford that airline ticket right now, anyway.")
"Is it True?" "Did he Really Win?" It seemed to me it was too early to know for sure.
I couldn't deal with getting my Hopes up and having them dashed again. I quickly called my Mother to verify and when she quietly said, "He won." (I could feel and hear the smile radiating from her heart to her face through her voice), grateful tears of joy streamed from my eyes.
Are you going to celebrate with the Obama volunteers? (My Mother had joined the thousands of Obama offices across the country that made phone calls and went to important states to talk with people.)
"There are volunteers who are going to meet at the office, but I wanted to take this historic moment in in peace and quiet at home.", she said. "L., I remember each of the assasinations of John and Robert Kennedy and the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...", she continued, "and the murders of students and the race riots... and I just want to be here by myself." I understood, as well as I could.
I can't know what it is like, exactly, for my Mother and for other Americans who lived during those tumultuous and tragedy-ridden times. I know the news of Barack's victory filled my own Heart with so much joy, it felt like it would burst. I grew up in the South. My first elementary school crush was on a school-mate who happened to not be white. As shy a child as I was in every other way, if I saw one child picking on another based solely upon the color of their skin, I would jump up and intervene on their behalf and berate the bully. I knew - even at that innocent age - the difference between right and wrong, and I knew racism was wrong. Of course, I'd learned about the heart-breaking events of the Civil Rights Movement. I'd seen film that depicted or was historical record of the kind of vile evil that one man can do to another for no other reason than ignorance-based hatred. I mourned for all who had suffered at those times. And, I felt anger at the racial inequalities and injustices that had managed to continue on since then.
Then Tuesday Night Happened. Barack's victory is a Ground-Breaking Moment of Historical Proportions. I know Everything that's wrong about racism or about our country won't change overnight. But, this victory is Change on a Global Scale. And, I Hope, it's Only the Beginning...
I'm thrilled with Obama's win for many reasons and on many levels.
My Best Wishes to Barack and Michelle (and the girls).
None of us is Perfect (though, the thought of Palin in the White House was - in a word - Terrifying.), but I feel that besides being Brilliant, Barack Obama is a Genuine and Compassionate Human Being. And - in spite of the many pitfalls of politics - he has managed to maintain his Integrity.
So, I'm Grateful. So Very Grateful. I Am - Simultaneously - Jubilant and Humble.
Having sworn off organized religion eons ago, I won't say the oft-repeated:
"God Bless (The United States of... ) America."
But, I will say:
"Thank You To... " and "I Love The United States Of America."
The Truest and Greatest Ideals of Our Amazing America are Alive, Well and Kicking A**... Right Here and Right Now and (Hopefully) Forever.
Thank You!
Peace.
L.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Sunday, November 02, 2008
In Honor of NASA and the ISS... Today's Word - "Keraunothnetophobia"
Greetings!
Today, Sunday, is a Special Day.
(And not in the 'Sunday Church'-sort of way.)
And a Special Day deserves a Special Word.
So, The Word for Today is...
"Keraunothnetophobia"
It's quite a mouthful, I know.
I chose this word because of a thankfully rare event that is happening Today (Sunday).
It's taken a little over a year - from the inaugural action that made today's event possible - for us to finally reach this momentous occasion (If it hasn't already happened, that is.)
Anticipation has been building... and so has a fair amount of Anxiety.
What - exactly - does "Keraunothnetophobia" mean?
And... What does it have to do with Today?
First, let's begin with the Definition:
Keraunothnetophobia: A Fear Of Falling Man-Made Satellites.
What does it have to do with Today?
Well... Today is the day that the massive, 1400-pound, commercial refrigerator-sized tank of toxic ammonia that was heaved from the International Space Station by astronaut Clayton Anderson - on July 23, 2007 - is expected to re-enter our atmosphere.
(NASA officials have said that they don't expect any of the dangerous debris to actually hit anyone... but their estimate is based on knowing that about 2/3 of the Earth is covered by ocean... basically - it's just a guess and fervent hopeful thinking.)
Hmm... If either You or a Loved one is tragically killed by a scrap of mangled machinery that has has fallen from the sky - which is known to be official property of NASA... Could the deceased's survivors successfully pursue a wrongful death suit against the federal space agency for damages?
A Good Question... I haven't heard it posed or answered elsewhere... yet.
Apparently, neither the United Nations nor any other international body has had the foresight to set into Law some necessary and common sense-based International Anti-Dumping Laws for Human Excursions into Outer Space. Desperately needed are laws prohibiting anyone/any country from dumping toxic and/or radioactive materials.
I find this omission rather odd. It's illegal here (signs are posted around San Francisco) to dump garbage - toxic or non-toxic - on any sidewalk, street, corner, park, etc.. Any perpetrator caught polluting will face paying hefty fines.
But, hey... If happen to find yourself orbiting the Earth whilst doing Spring Cleaning... and you want to get rid of a huge tank of poisonous ammonia... knowing that it will not be completely incinerated in the Earth's atmosphere and that it will - at some point and in some form - crash onto the surface in parts unknown... It could fall into the ocean, but... it could also slam into yours or anyone's home, car or head...
Well, that's perfectly acceptable and even cheered (I recall baseball pitching references being made when Clayton heaved it away.).
Gd, I just hope that any extra-terrestrial beings that - on the off chance - might be observing humanity's actions and weighing its potential/penchant for Doing Good or Doing Harm... possibly to help them to decide whether or not they will introduce themselves or perform a pre-emptive strike on the species... I just hope that they also see plenty of actions that prove that some members of our species are sentient, compassionate and worthy of our Priceless, One and Only, Big Blue Marble called Earth.
I definitely also hope that none of the jettisoned space junk - that's hurtling towards the surface at about 100mph - manages to kill anyone.
Well... there are a few people that we would all be better off without... but, nah.... it's not my department.
Peace... and For your own safety: Take those damn earbuds out of your ears and look up once in a while!
L.
The EAS, or Early Ammonia Servicer... on its way home.
(From: www.space.com/)
Space Station Trash Plunging to Earth
By Tariq Malik
Senior Editor
31 October 2008
6:30 pm ET
A piece of space station trash the size of a refrigerator is poised to plunge through the Earth's atmosphere late Sunday, more than a year after an astronaut tossed it overboard.
NASA and the U.S. Space Surveillance Network are tracking the object - a 1,400-pound (635-kg) tank of toxic ammonia coolant thrown from the International Space Station - to make sure it does not endanger people on Earth. Exactly where the tank will inevitably fall is currently unknown, though it is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere Sunday afternoon or later that evening, NASA officials said.
"This has got a very low likelihood that anybody will be impacted by it," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager, in an interview. "But still, it is a large object and pieces will enter and we just need to be cautious."
NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson threw the ammonia tank from the tip of the space station's Canadian-built robotic arm during a July 23, 2007 spacewalk. He also tossed away an unneeded video camera stand overboard as well, but that 212-pound (96-kilogram) item burned up harmlessly in the atmosphere early this year, Suffredini said.
NASA expects up to 15 pieces of the tank to survive the searing hot temperatures of re-entry, ranging in size from about 1.4 ounces (40 grams) to nearly 40 pounds (17.5 kg).
If they reach all the way to land, the largest pieces could slam into the Earth's surface at about 100 mph (161 kph). But a splashdown at sea is also possible, as the planet is two-thirds ocean.
"If anybody found a piece of anything on the ground Monday morning, I would hope they wouldn't get too close to it," Suffredini said.
Known as the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS), the coolant tank is the largest piece of orbital trash ever tossed overboard by hand from the space station. Larger unmanned Russian and European cargo ships are routinely destroyed in the Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean after their space station deliveries, but those disposals are controlled and preplanned.
The recent destruction of the European Space Agency's Jules Verne cargo ship was eagerly observed by scientists hoping to glean new information on how objects behave as they enter Earth's atmosphere. Observers aboard two chase planes caught photographs and video of the double-decker bus-sized spacecraft's demise, but no such campaign is possible with the returning ammonia tank.
The last object to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere with prior notice was a small asteroid the size of a kitchen table that exploded in midair as it flew over Africa on Oct. 7.
It's taken more than year for the ammonia tank to slowly slip down toward Earth due to atmospheric drag. During its time aboard the station, the tank served as a coolant reservoir to boost the outpost's cooling system in the event of leaks. Upgrades to the station last year made the tank obsolete, and engineers were concerned that its structural integrity would not withstand a ride back to Earth aboard a NASA space shuttle.
Instead, they tossed it overboard, or "jettisoned" it in NASA parlance.
Suffredini said that while astronauts have accidentally lost a tool or two during spacewalks, the planned jettison of larger items is done with the utmost care to ensure the trash doesn't hit the station or any other spacecraft as it circles the Earth. Engineers also make sure the risk to people on Earth is low, as well.
"As a matter of course, we don't throw things overboard haphazardly," Suffredini said. "We have a policy that has certain criteria we have to meet before you can throw something overboard."
In the event the tank re-enters over land, NASA advised members of the public to contact their local authorities, or the U.S. Department of State via diplomatic channels if outside the U.S., if they believe they've found its remains.
Today, Sunday, is a Special Day.
(And not in the 'Sunday Church'-sort of way.)
And a Special Day deserves a Special Word.
So, The Word for Today is...
"Keraunothnetophobia"
It's quite a mouthful, I know.
I chose this word because of a thankfully rare event that is happening Today (Sunday).
It's taken a little over a year - from the inaugural action that made today's event possible - for us to finally reach this momentous occasion (If it hasn't already happened, that is.)
Anticipation has been building... and so has a fair amount of Anxiety.
What - exactly - does "Keraunothnetophobia" mean?
And... What does it have to do with Today?
First, let's begin with the Definition:
Keraunothnetophobia: A Fear Of Falling Man-Made Satellites.
What does it have to do with Today?
Well... Today is the day that the massive, 1400-pound, commercial refrigerator-sized tank of toxic ammonia that was heaved from the International Space Station by astronaut Clayton Anderson - on July 23, 2007 - is expected to re-enter our atmosphere.
(NASA officials have said that they don't expect any of the dangerous debris to actually hit anyone... but their estimate is based on knowing that about 2/3 of the Earth is covered by ocean... basically - it's just a guess and fervent hopeful thinking.)
Hmm... If either You or a Loved one is tragically killed by a scrap of mangled machinery that has has fallen from the sky - which is known to be official property of NASA... Could the deceased's survivors successfully pursue a wrongful death suit against the federal space agency for damages?
A Good Question... I haven't heard it posed or answered elsewhere... yet.
Apparently, neither the United Nations nor any other international body has had the foresight to set into Law some necessary and common sense-based International Anti-Dumping Laws for Human Excursions into Outer Space. Desperately needed are laws prohibiting anyone/any country from dumping toxic and/or radioactive materials.
I find this omission rather odd. It's illegal here (signs are posted around San Francisco) to dump garbage - toxic or non-toxic - on any sidewalk, street, corner, park, etc.. Any perpetrator caught polluting will face paying hefty fines.
But, hey... If happen to find yourself orbiting the Earth whilst doing Spring Cleaning... and you want to get rid of a huge tank of poisonous ammonia... knowing that it will not be completely incinerated in the Earth's atmosphere and that it will - at some point and in some form - crash onto the surface in parts unknown... It could fall into the ocean, but... it could also slam into yours or anyone's home, car or head...
Well, that's perfectly acceptable and even cheered (I recall baseball pitching references being made when Clayton heaved it away.).
Gd, I just hope that any extra-terrestrial beings that - on the off chance - might be observing humanity's actions and weighing its potential/penchant for Doing Good or Doing Harm... possibly to help them to decide whether or not they will introduce themselves or perform a pre-emptive strike on the species... I just hope that they also see plenty of actions that prove that some members of our species are sentient, compassionate and worthy of our Priceless, One and Only, Big Blue Marble called Earth.
I definitely also hope that none of the jettisoned space junk - that's hurtling towards the surface at about 100mph - manages to kill anyone.
Well... there are a few people that we would all be better off without... but, nah.... it's not my department.
Peace... and For your own safety: Take those damn earbuds out of your ears and look up once in a while!
L.
The EAS, or Early Ammonia Servicer... on its way home.
(From: www.space.com/)
Space Station Trash Plunging to Earth
By Tariq Malik
Senior Editor
31 October 2008
6:30 pm ET
A piece of space station trash the size of a refrigerator is poised to plunge through the Earth's atmosphere late Sunday, more than a year after an astronaut tossed it overboard.
NASA and the U.S. Space Surveillance Network are tracking the object - a 1,400-pound (635-kg) tank of toxic ammonia coolant thrown from the International Space Station - to make sure it does not endanger people on Earth. Exactly where the tank will inevitably fall is currently unknown, though it is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere Sunday afternoon or later that evening, NASA officials said.
"This has got a very low likelihood that anybody will be impacted by it," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager, in an interview. "But still, it is a large object and pieces will enter and we just need to be cautious."
NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson threw the ammonia tank from the tip of the space station's Canadian-built robotic arm during a July 23, 2007 spacewalk. He also tossed away an unneeded video camera stand overboard as well, but that 212-pound (96-kilogram) item burned up harmlessly in the atmosphere early this year, Suffredini said.
NASA expects up to 15 pieces of the tank to survive the searing hot temperatures of re-entry, ranging in size from about 1.4 ounces (40 grams) to nearly 40 pounds (17.5 kg).
If they reach all the way to land, the largest pieces could slam into the Earth's surface at about 100 mph (161 kph). But a splashdown at sea is also possible, as the planet is two-thirds ocean.
"If anybody found a piece of anything on the ground Monday morning, I would hope they wouldn't get too close to it," Suffredini said.
Known as the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS), the coolant tank is the largest piece of orbital trash ever tossed overboard by hand from the space station. Larger unmanned Russian and European cargo ships are routinely destroyed in the Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean after their space station deliveries, but those disposals are controlled and preplanned.
The recent destruction of the European Space Agency's Jules Verne cargo ship was eagerly observed by scientists hoping to glean new information on how objects behave as they enter Earth's atmosphere. Observers aboard two chase planes caught photographs and video of the double-decker bus-sized spacecraft's demise, but no such campaign is possible with the returning ammonia tank.
The last object to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere with prior notice was a small asteroid the size of a kitchen table that exploded in midair as it flew over Africa on Oct. 7.
It's taken more than year for the ammonia tank to slowly slip down toward Earth due to atmospheric drag. During its time aboard the station, the tank served as a coolant reservoir to boost the outpost's cooling system in the event of leaks. Upgrades to the station last year made the tank obsolete, and engineers were concerned that its structural integrity would not withstand a ride back to Earth aboard a NASA space shuttle.
Instead, they tossed it overboard, or "jettisoned" it in NASA parlance.
Suffredini said that while astronauts have accidentally lost a tool or two during spacewalks, the planned jettison of larger items is done with the utmost care to ensure the trash doesn't hit the station or any other spacecraft as it circles the Earth. Engineers also make sure the risk to people on Earth is low, as well.
"As a matter of course, we don't throw things overboard haphazardly," Suffredini said. "We have a policy that has certain criteria we have to meet before you can throw something overboard."
In the event the tank re-enters over land, NASA advised members of the public to contact their local authorities, or the U.S. Department of State via diplomatic channels if outside the U.S., if they believe they've found its remains.
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