Water on the Moon!

Water on the MOON! Now that is big news.

The recent NASA mission that bombarded the lunar surface generated a plume including a significant amount of water vapor. This means our vision of the moon being a cold dry place is wrong and it could have implications for further exploration and for the search for life on other worlds as well.

Coney Island Redux

Last month, my partner and I paid a cold rainy visit to Coney Island to make a pilgrimage to Gargiulio's restaurant. It's a tradition for me to have a great Italian dinner at one of Coney Island's landmarks. The other landmarks are dwindling. Astroland, though never a great amusement park was still a remnant of what Coney Island used to be, is long gone. Luna Park and Steeplechase are dim memories for only the older crowd, and the last remnants of Coney are the Cyclone roller coaster, Wonderwheel Park and the Sideshow by the Seashore.

Today the city gave the aging fun-zone new hope. New York announced a 12.5 acre amusement park and major revival projects for the boardwalk and entertainment areas surrounding it. Read more here on Huffington Post.

GOP Funds Abortions

No really! Their health insurance program for the Republican National Committee actually pays for abortions. The hypocritical votes of Republicans forcing a "no publicly funded abortions" clause in the health insurance reform is amazingly cynical.

Of course I should have expected no less.

Lou Dobbs - Buh Bye!

Tonight Lou Dobbs leaves CNN. I suspect in a few days he will show up on FOX. His once semi-coherent voice has become a shrill call for the right as he rants about illegal aliens and other far right diatribes.

Perhaps he will be happier somewhere else?

Veteran's Day

I always try to spend a few moments in meditation remembering the veterans who have gone to war in the name of our freedom. Though I have often disagreed with the government as to the need for the wars they wage, I never have lost respect for the men and women who fight them.

I also spend a little time praying for peace. I pray for a day when nations work out their problems at a negotiating table and not a battlefield. Want to get involved? Check out the Dallas Peace House.

AIG CEO Feels Restricted By Government Pay Czar

Spending the first two weeks on the job telecommuting from his villa on the Adriatic Sea where he oversees wine production in his vineyard, Robert Benmosche feels pinched. Apparently he resents government oversight of the company the US Taxpayers now own and wants more "freedom" to dole out bonuses to his execs.

My heart bleeds for him!

Mayan Calendars & UFOs

As the opening day of the new disaster movie 2012 nears, the internet is abuzz with pseudo-science! Talk of the end of the world abounds and yet it is nothing new. Back in 1844 a guy named William Miller claimed that Jesus was coming back and he knew the exact date. October 22, 1844!

Thousands of his wide eyed followers gathered for the second coming and waited with breathless anticipation. The next morning brought disappointment, yet Miller continued to wait for Jesus until his death several years later. That event "the great disappointment" actually gave birth to the Adventist movement and eventually the 7th Day Adventist Church.

Maybe a new church will form in 2013?

The Mayan calendar is segmented into cycles and one does end in 2012, but another begins immediately following that.

Other crackpots claim a planetary alignment will throw the earth off kilter or some such crap. According to NASA, don't hold your breath. Once again it's a load of hooey, but this time it's being exploited for profit by writers and movie makers instead of religious zealots.

So have fun at the movie and sleep well knowing that we have a much better chance of destroying ourselved with our weapons and carbon emissions than we do of an apocalypse in 2012.

Don't Ask, Don't Give

Interesting tactic launched by the folks at AmericaBlog and one that might get the attention of the White House. The Gay-TM is officially turned off until the President and his people begin prodding Congress to do the right thing and repeal DOMA, DADT and pass ENDA! So many acronyms!

Here is the petition.

Far Right Forms New Party In Florida

Conservatives have circled the wagons in Florida and are engaged in a circular firing squad. Not content with Charlie Crist who many of the right wing-nuts consider too liberal they have formed a new political party. The Tea Party!

This is pretty good news for progressives. If the GOP splits into right wing and further right wing, their power will be even further limited than it is now. My hope is that this kind of schism will relegate the Republicans and their ilk to a minor Southern party with little actual power. Now if we can only get the Democrats to understand how powerful their position is and start behaving like the majority party!

Joe Leiberman Still In The Pocket Of Health Insurance

How to put this tactfully? Sen. Joe Lieberman is a dick. yup that just about sums it up as kindly as I can put it. He has sworn to kill the health care bill so long as there is any chance of reasonable and affordable insurance for all Americans. He still clings to the delusion that private companies do it better.

Well, Joe, go take your Ayn Rand books and invisible hand of the market and stuff it. You know very well the insurance companies will do everything they can to gouge American's however and whenever they can. Just try jumping through the hoops to get any kind of procedure approved... oh that's right, you have GOVERNMENT HEALTH INSURANCE!

What a piece of work you are!