Challenger

Jay reminded me:

23 years ago, Janurary 28th, 1986

I was in the lunchroom at Deerwood elementary school in East Orlando approximately 45 miles from the launch complex. Within seconds of the breakup, myself along with hundreds of other students were outside watching the debris falling to earth.

I can still remember crying and not knowing why... I still have an autographed 45 record of a song recorded the week of the disaster with a song named "Challenger."

Years later, I was on the playground at Union Park Elementary in Orlando, also about 40 miles from the launch complex, when the space shuttle missions resumed. I can still remember other children screaming "Blow up! Blow up!" and thinking how horrible and mean those kids were.

Several years later, I was able to visit Arlington National Cemetery and see the graves of the astronauts. Only the grave of Kennedy had more solemn meaning for me.

To this day, I can still hear the voice of Michael Smith saying "Uh oh"... And I remember the numerous local news stories of people finding debris washing up on Cocoa Beach.

Like you, I did not experience anything this monumentally life changing until 9/11/01... A year and a half later, I was again ripped apart when the Columbia disintegrated on reentry. The helplessness of being a bystander to tragic history is only drowned out when you realize that the event you are watching was not just an accident but was deliberate... Perhaps that is why Challenger and Columbia make me sad and 9/11 makes me seethe in anger.

The most emotional thing about the whole Challenger incident was the words of Reagan that night... It brings tears to my eyes every time:

"We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth' to 'touch the face of God."

Stolen Gun Belonging To Davy Crockett Returned

From CBS 11 Dallas/Ft. Worth:

An important piece of Texas history is back safe with its owner.

This week, a thief stole the rare pistol once owned by Davy Crockett.

Mark Disanti collects military memorabilia. "I'm a history buff," he said.

But he said he never expected he'd buy a gun rich in Texas history.

It turns out the Deringer .44 caliber pistol he purchased was owned by American folk hero Davy Crockett, who was killed in the battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution back in 1836.

God, can you imagine? Holding such an amazing piece of history in your hands. I am glad that the guy did the right thing and returned the pistol.

Worker shoots himself in arm without a gun

Ok, I am at a loss:

DELAND — DeLand police are investigating a bizarre shooting at a cemetery that involved bullets used in a military funeral service but no gun.

Howard Sheppard, 30, of Deltona, was shot in the left biceps and went to Florida Hospital DeLand for treatment, Officer Jacob Hudson wrote in a report.

Sheppard, who works at DeLand Memorial Gardens, told a nurse he picked up six rounds of ammunition and one of them discharged and struck him in the arm, Hudson said. When Sheppard said the other five rounds were in his shirt pocket, a security guard took the shirt and called police.

Sheppard initially said the ammunition was on a shelf and one of the bullets may have discharged because he threw a hammer and a string trimmer on the shelf, police said. After being pressed, he told Hudson that he secured the sixth bullet in a vise clamp, placed a metal punch into the cartridge primer and hit the punch with a hammer.

Sorry but this one doesn't add up.

Obama's secret weapon

From Black-and-right:

Obama and the GOP moderates will not produce the kind of post-partisan harmony that Obama promised and the public now expects.

But I believe Obama has an ace in the hole among Senate Republicans. This unlikely ace can deliver not only the GOP moderates needed to break a filibuster, but also the stamp of bipartisanship: the 2008 GOP standard bearer, John McCain.

In McCain's mind, however, losing the presidency will not be the final chapter of his life story. He knows the path to "Big Media" redemption. Working with the man who vanquished him in November will show them all the real McCain again.

This is no surprise to those of us that didnt like McCain in the first damn place.

Flag desecration, the hopechange edition

Thanks to Say anything:



Of course when you consider the utter lack of respect for the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence that most of the Obots have, this is no surprise at all.

Obama is Clinging

From Breitbart:

Despite legal and security hurdles, president-elect Barack Obama says he has a plan to retain his beloved Blackberry once he moves into the White House next week.

Interviewed by CNN Friday, Obama said the smartphone was among the tools that he would use to stay in touch with real Americans and avoid becoming trapped inside the presidential "bubble."

"I think we're going to be able to hang on to one of these. My working assumption, and this is not new, is that anything I write on an email could end up being on CNN," he said.

"So I make sure to think before I press 'send'," he said of his Blackberry, which was an ever-present fixture on his belt or in his hand on the campaign trail.

Obama did not divulge just how he will overcome legal constraints, given the requirement of the post-Watergate Presidential Records Act of 1978 to keep a record of every White House communication.

Nor did he say how he would persuade his Secret Service protectors that the Blackberry does not pose a security risk, for instance if it is hacked over the air.

So refusal to give up things that comfort him, any bets on what will happen to gun owners when they try to do the same thing after he passes a ban?

I say we flood DC with FOIA requests for the contents of his blackberry emails every day starting tomorrow. After all, the info will be public record.