"If you hide behind a baby carriage..."
Arutz Sheva, a mother of an Israeli soldier whose best friend is in Lebanon as part of the elite Israeli corp, writes at IsraelNationalNews.com:
"Please remember this when you hear about the "atrocity" of the Israeli bomb (allegedly) dropped on Kfar Kana, killing many civilians, a place from which Hizbullah has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel. Unlike previous administrations, Mr. Ehud Olmert has my respect when he says: "They were warned to leave. It is the responsibility of Hizbullah for firing rockets amidst civilians."
Terrorists and their supporters have lost the right to complain about civilian casualties, since all they have done this entire war is target civilians. Every single one of the more than 2,500 rockets launched into Israel is launched into populated towns filled with women and children. Just today, another suicide belt meant to kill civilians in Israel was detonated harmlessly by our forces in Nablus.
So, don't cry to me about civilian casualties. Cry to those using your babies and wives and mothers; cry to those who store weapons in mosques, ambulances, hospitals and private homes. Cry to those launching deadly rockets from the backyards of your kindergartens and schools. Cry to the heartless men who love death, and who, however many of their troops or civilians die, consider themselves victorious as long as they can keep on firing rockets at our women and children.
Save your sympathy for the mothers and sisters and girlfriends of our young soldiers who would rather be sitting in study halls learning Torah, but have no choice but to risk their precious lives - full of hope, goodness and endless potential - to wipe out the cancerous terrorist cells that threaten their people and all mankind. Make your choice, and save your tears.
That terrorists have been unsuccessful in killing more of our women and children is due to our army, God and our prayers, not to any lack of motivation or intention on their part. If you hide behind your baby to shoot at my baby, you are responsible for getting children killed. You, and you alone." The facts of this war are very clear....in all but the MSM and our Euro-weenie friends.
Captain Ed writes on the Lebanese leader, Fuad Saniora, and his newest statement supporting Hezbollah...."
We already know that Lebanon has ultimate responsibility for acts carried out by militias it tolerates on its land, but the assumption was that Saniora didn't disband Hezbollah out of inability. Statements such as these make it appear that Saniora didn't want to disband Hezbollah under any circumstances. That makes Saniora more overtly responsible for the act of war, and it frees Israel to target Lebanese military assets on a much broader basis."Read Ed's entire piece
to get the story.The mystery of why the rest of the world ignores the bombing/rocket attacks by Hezbollah on citizens, as a matter of course, is beyond this person's understanding. The Hezbollah idiocy bombs citizens daily.....not one time.....Oh, and wait for the entire story on Israeli bombing of the building in Qana as it now apopears the building stood for hours after the bomb and then fell in.....Must have been very slow people inside the building. (Sorry, that was insensitive....been reading too much KOS!).
Duke
"The times they are a changin..."
This piece has been rattling around in my head for some time. Not sure just where it might lead. I have not written it before as I felt, and still do to some extent, that I did not have a very defined grasp of just what I see as the changes from my teen years to today.
I graduated from high school in the small Central Illinois town of Pekin. I think the town was 20-25 thousand back then. My class of 1961 held its 45th reunion this June. That is always a telling event. Perhaps the most important observation I might make is that the "cliques" have, for the most part, disappeared. The early reunions; 10 - 15 - 20 years still saw the groups together. Now there seems a certain mellowness about us. I was actually entertained by my table of participants. One was a drum majorette while I was drum major. (she is still the lovely slender blonde I knew from 1st grade forward!) Another I recalled only by name, but with no association during school. An interesting fellow. Another was a man I do not even recall. He was quiet, but certainly interested in all of us.
An earlier night, before the reunion actually began, about 6 of us (two as couples) plus two of our spouses gathered at a Peoria restaurant for a quiet dinner and talk. A very pleasant evening.
In actual fact our group has an edge on the reunion thing as some 50 plus of my school mates, graduating over a five year span, have become re-acquainted through an email group begun by a fellow who graduated the class before me. This group has spent the past five years exchanging memories of our town and our time there. We are a diverse group, counting as members; A retired Sr. Capt. who flew 777s for United; a retired fighterjet piulot now publishing a trucking magazine; a retired partner in one of the Big 5 accounting firms; a professor or two; a few business owners; several housewives; a fellow living in Russia buying and selling manufacturing machinery; LOTS of engineers of all types; and, being from Central Illinois...we have our fair share of retired Caterpillar Tractor Co. folks.
Having set the stage with the above, as the Duchess and I made our way back to Tampa from the reunion (by motorhome), I did a lot of thinking about change since high school.
This morning Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) sent me to Jeff Jarvis' site to read about a change in movie audiences.
An interesting viewpoint I am not sure is wrong!I sense a change in many of those near my age...at least in my circle of folks. There seems to be coming out a certain lessening of the drive we all had. I know for my part I feel the approaching retirement as a time for ME. The Duchess and I have plans for things to do and places to go. I feel a bit as if the race is over and we can now stop and smell the roses.
It does not have to do with being tired, nor resigning from the world. We are still quite active with me Chair of the Trustees of my Elks Lodge, and she and I members of "The Cruisers", a group of about 8-10 friends who like to gather...on a cruise, just for a party, or as we did this weekend, a wine tasting on a paddle wheeler in the intercoastal waterway off Clearwater. The Duchess is into water aerobics, water volleyball, and her bunco club. We both read and I blog on four sites.
The relax is, prehaps, due the fact that while we are certainly not wealthy, we will be comfortable and our plans now seem to be at fruition. There is a mental comfort at this "plan coming together".....We look forward to time together. Cruises, here and in Europe; our friends and my Lodge. Grandkids....9 in five well-spread homes! Our RV is a joy waiting to happen.
I guess to this point I didn't look around much at others and notice their drive and their pressures. I see it now in Lil Duke and others of our kids. I recall having it. I am glad it is now lots further down in my list of things about my life.
Time to enjoy.....23 more work days to come to the hospital. But who's counting?
Duke
How Do You Fight The Terrorist?
Will Collier, at VodkaPundit has an interesting and quite nice piece on how we fight the terrorists who hide among the population....while also screaming when that population is killed/wounded as a result. First,
read his stuff!Now, the added question.....How do you fairly fight these mad people while dealing with an MSM that ignores the fact they hide among the civilians, and then attacks when Israel kills civilians while mopping up a rocket-launching crew.....all the while continuing to ignore that the terrorists themselves are lobbing HUNDREDS of rockets and missiles unabashedly targeting civilians.
Who-the-HELL invented this double standard....and, why are our media not much-more-often questioned publicly about the double standard?
Until we can get the bleeding-heart Libs to level their playing field (never happen) I see no way to portray this fairly. The UN, of course, lives by the same double standard.
Frankly, if we scrape and bow to the gods of UN/MSM/Liberal idiocy, we will find the world a Muslim world, led by Islamofascists.....and dhimmitude will be the flavor of forever!
My God what have we allowed to descend upon us?
Someone find a few keys, quickly, so we can reestablish our USA as it was envisioned by our founders.
Duke
Is Captain Ed A Business Typhoon?
Who'd-a-thunk it?Captain's Quarters "Captain Ed", into a mega business? A Resort of his own?
WOW! I'm green with envy!
Check it
OUT!Congrats Ed! Oh, and do you have any rooms available under a
"blogger" discount?
Seriously, I was on a different PC and without thinking just typed in
captainsquarters.com instead of remembering to add the word "blog" to the address.
Duke
My Congressman, Jim Davis of Florida, Flunks!
Andy Roth speaks on the efforts by one Congressman to expose Pork by each of our Congressmen....
"Thanks to Congressman Jeff Flake's 19 anti-pork amendments, we now have every House member on record regarding their positions on earmarks. Before now, House members have been able to avoid scrutiny because their pork was co-mingled with other projects and tucked into the dark corners of big spending bills. Or they were able to withstand the scrutiny because they were attacked as a whole chamber and not directly attacked themselves.
But because of Flake's amendments, they were recently forced to cast up-or-down votes on specific projects. They could no longer deflect attention. Below is a summary scorecard of how they voted (below the scorecard are the vote descriptions). If you want an itemized list, you can click on any one of the following PDFs. A "YES" vote on any of the Flake amendments is a good, anti-pork vote. A "NO" vote is a bad, pro-pork vote."So.....I looked up my Congressman, Jim Davis of Florida......
His rating?
100% NO.......He voted AGAINST each initiative to show how our congressmen are spending our money through special earmarks (Pork).....
Wonder what Davis has to hide that he does not want us to know what he submitted for funding? Perhaps he is helping some special friends....Perhaps some funding for things which won't actually help us. Guess I'll send him an email and ask why he does not feel accountable!
Duke
UPDATE: Oops! My Bad! - I forgot to give you folks the link To post on YOUR congressman! - Just DO IT! We need their exposure across the blogosphere.
"If It Wasn't For Pelosi...."
Oh Boy! - This one really seems to me to place the onus on the GOP leadership... primarily the White House...to change in this election year, or face a disasterous defeat this fall at the polls.
From David S. Broder, writing at the WaPo, comes this excerpt from his interview of an anonymous Dem-turned-GOP-now-disappointed fellow from the South:
"If it wasn't for Pelosi," he said, "I'd just as soon the Democrats take over this fall. Get some checks and balances and teach these guys a lesson."The entire piece reads with sense and reason.....and it scares this conservative/libertarian! Read it for yourself here...Duke
Persistant Press Reports Not Trusted?
In his usual succinct method, Instapundit unveils a change in public perception...
&
produces great closing line.Duke
One War - Two Viewpoints!
Perhaps the most difficulty in attempting to bring some semblance of order to the current Israeli - Hezbollah war is the complete lack of a common view by the sides involved.
I will, first of all, admit that my view is fairly in line with that of the Israelis.
Within the last day or two the Hezbollah (has anyone else noticed there are at least five different spellings of the group's name?) leader, Hassan Nasrallah indicated Lebanon's government was aware of their plans to abduct soldiers, and more-to-the-point of this piece, was genuinely surprised about both Isreal's strong response, and the lack of support from Arab nations
in this piece on MEMRI TV.
Meanwhile, a left-leaning member of the Israeli government, Isaac Herzog, strongly supported the Israeli position, and spoke of the difference between Israeli targeting of primarily military targest as compared to the Hezbollah:
"Israel today is facing a sustained onslaught from one of the world's most dangerous and effective terrorist organisations. In the past few days, 1,000 rockets and 1,200 mortar rounds have been hurled across the border by Hizbullah at hospitals, schools and homes. Their intention is the killing and maiming of Israelis in general."Herzog's entire article is available at the Guardian and should
be read!There should be no surprise over the different views.
This difference of view is what will make any attempt at a cease fire nearly impossible. The saving grace here will be the eventual destruction of Hazbollah military capability. Then negotiation can be held....but hopefully not until Israel has completed the job.
What is still almost unbelievable is the MSM...here and across Europe...painting the picture of dead civilians from Israeli bombs, weapons....and a complete lack of coverage of the fact Hezbollah is trying to destroy all of Israel, including their primary targeting of civilian, not military targets.
Duke
Re-Tire-Ment!
It is upon me.....August 31st is the magic date.
I have looked forward to this for several years....and now the Duchess and I are going through what is proving to be a rigorous process. She left her position as a Cardiac Surgical Nurse Clinician (after 30 years) at the end of April.
We are still awaiting her first retirement check from our employer. There is a loooong process involved; 1st, you have to have received your last check...she got hers in June for more than 600 hours of accrued sick time unused. Then within a month they send out your application form for the money. Next she will receive a letter giving her three choices.....1)Take the money and invest it yourself; 2) Take a monthly pay for the rest of your life; or, 3) Take a monthly pay which is less and would continue to me if she dies first.
We're thinking September for her first check! April to September....Unless we choose to invest the money ourselves...a good possibility.
I am anticipating a much quicker turnaround as I don't have the hours stored up which caused a lot of her delay. However, as I have worked too long this year, and am still a couple of years short of my "normal retirement age" of 65 years and 10 months, I will not file for Social Security until after January 1st 2007. Then my continuing contract work for my employer cannot exceed $1,000 monthly until my normal retirement age is reached. Else, I will lose $1 in Social Security for every $2 I make over that amount. (It is an annualized amount, not monthly!)
Scarey stuff to deal with....lots of choices and decisions, and not a very clear picture of those choices from anyone!
But then, the motorhome awaits....and we are ready to rumble. I am covering that part of our life on my other blog,
& Then I Bought an RV!Drop in there after the end of August and follow our travels....or go take a peak now for the few submissions including our first major trip to Illinois/Wisconsin and back in June. There will be more pictures there as we travel.
Duke
Axis of Terror Is Alive and Well!
N. Korea shot off some missiles. That was very worrisome!
Now the really bad news comes from this
Reuters release.
Iranians so close to their evil axis of terror soulmate that they are allowed to view the missile launches? That is cause for major concern.
There is much communication between the two, obviously. That takes the game another notch higher. Missiles from N. Korea shipped to Iran to bolster their current capability? Let us hope we are on top of such things. Given our recent failures in the field of spies and spying, I am not so sure we are.
Duke
Another Iranian Grab for Time? - I'm Afraid So!
The Iranians suddenly, post UN resolution, seem to feel the proffered deal from the Euro-American side is worth basing discussion upon!
Oh No......not another round of fruitless discussions.
Capt. Ed has
details of the deal....and a hope.
I am not so sold.....I believe quite firmly that the Iranian answer is just another...."let me drag you into another round of three months of fruitless planning, disagreement-on-format, aimless discussions" to allow us more time for building the damn bomb!
They are just masters at this and have managed to take this thing along for three years plus now and still are no more, perhaps less, compliant than ever before. But, we still cling to the discussion mode as a possibility.
IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!!!!!
Not now....not in the future, not EVER! These animals of the government and clerical divisions of Iran are playing the world like a banjo with one string.....the same note is played over and over, and each and every time the world greets their proclimations of possibility as a new breakthru. NOT!
Call me the pessimist and then we'll see who is right in 60-90 days when they reject the talks due our lack of a good proposal....i.e.; letting them do as they please anyway!
Duke
It's Not Their Exposure, It's Their Availability!
No one, until this piece by
Col. Austin Bay, has mentioned the duality of the exposure of American Citizens in Lebanon in the current crisis.
Briefly, Col. Bay tells us the Americans could be at far more dangerous exposure to the possibility of the Hezbollah capturing them as add-ons to the two Isreali soldiers than to the bombs and rockets of the IDF. Thus evacuation becomes much more important.
There is, however, a major anticipated difference between the reaction of "Jimmy The Appeaser" and and our current president if the terrorists try such a taking...as Bay so succinctly puts it...
"George W. Bush won’t dither like Jimmy Carter."
Can I get an "AMEN?"
Duke
Maybe it's the Borders Too!
Over at Capt Ed's place the story is the fact of a new poll showing Pres Bush at 40%....a MAJOR upage since a few weeks back....and, Ed feels it is due a Demo effort at "cut and run".....
Read it!!!While I agree with Ed on his point of view...I feel there is more.
This may seem a bit obtuse, but read and heed and see if I might be right.
The Dem opposition to staying the course in Iraq is a definite in the surge by Bush. However, I feel there is a second, sort of subliminely-hidden message related to what GOP faithful are reading....
A) The Demo opposition
B) The GOP opposition......NOT to cut and run, but to the Immigration plans of Bush!
Is it really unreasonable to find the the GOP faithful are both Bush supporters, and in opposition to him on immigration? NOPE! Is it then less obvious that the House "stick-by-the-guns" demonstration on facing 1st the method of immigration, and then the fact of those present , seems to have won major support and even an aquiesence by Bush....a comfort factor allowing the faithful to return to the ranks, assured that the House will give them Immigration satisfaction, and thus the Bush doctrine is not a force.?????
Crazy rhetoric?
I hope not and feel not.
Duke
When is a Terrorist a Terrorist?
They are sometimes Terrorists....but not usually. Mostly they are militants, or some such label. I have yet to find when Palestinians, the opposition in Iraq or Afghanistan, or the bombers of Malaysia are "Terrorists"....They are militants, separatists, etc.
The story today on the death of Chechen leader Shamil Basayev labels him as a "Terror Leader" at FOX.......At MSNBC he is labeled as "responsible for modern Russia's worst terror attacks"; at CBS he is "most wanted terrorist"; and at ABC he is listed in the story as "author of modern Russia's worst terror attack" (sound familiar).....however in their headline he is simply "Chenchen Rebel Basayev Killed"......
In Iraq, there are no terrorists..... only militants. In Afghanistan they are also militants.
Quirky ideas in the MSM on who is what.......they are all wanton killers.
Is there a theme here that those who kill Americans, or Jews are not ever terrorists?
Hummmm!
Duke
Leiberman a Case of KOSPanic?
It seems so to me, and the summation of the idea is from Silflay Hraka and
is quite convincing to me....The idea as he sums it is KOS and Company, having a losing record unblemished yet by any wins, have "bet the farm" on a single win in a liberal haven which has been electing the (according to them) conservative Lieberman.
His summation:
"I think the answer is simple. Having so obviously targeted Lieberman, the netroots/nutroots/Townhouse crew must now defeat him, or risk being seen as irrelevant, especially considering their dismal electoral record thus far.
National races are one thing, but If the LeftNet cannot elect a candidate of their own choosing in a Democratic Primary in one of the most liberal states in the Union, then they can't win elections, period. If that happens, it should become obvious to one and all that the Emperor has no clothes."
Ahem! It seems so painfully obvious, and given their choice of their most-likely place for victory it indeed smacks of a last-ditch effort wrapped in the clothes of a grand and glorious effort.....
May they lose, and lose big......
HOWEVER!
Would it not be better for them to WIN the primary? Then Lieberman could unveil their theatrics and run as an Independent dedicated to caucus with the Dems, and beat their candidate?
I am not sure which scenario meets my beliefs most......
I'lll obviously accept either! The Independent scenario will come closer to giving me an ulcer!
Duke
An Oasis in The Dessert?
Iraqi folks have apparently made a major move toward Democracy in their views since the liberation of Iraq from Saddam....and from the general Arabic view of things....
This is a
critical point, and one you need to read about as presented by
Iraq The Model.It is long and involved....but the message is simple and direct......Free a people from the values of an oppresive theocracy/dictatorship, and they quickly begin thinking
FREEDOM!!!!!Duke
A Life Well-Lived!
Thanks for the many expressions, thoughts, etc. regarding the July 4th loss of the Duchess' Mom. It was a difficult three weeks, and the end was not unanticipated.
It is always hard to let go a loved one. This person was such a part of hundreds of lives that I feel compelled to speak out about her and a life well-lived!
Born in Texas, and known throughout the portion of her life in which I was involved (the past 20+ years) as "The Yellow Rose", this woman achieved more by age 20 than most of us will ever accomplish.
She was a child prodigy in music; flew a biplane at age 14; was a champion bronc-buster at the same age; off to college at 16; married her husband, a dashing Lt. in the Army Air Corp., at age 19...he was several years her senior; taught title IX in Mississippi enforcing the school integration laws; an active member and instructor in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary for more than 20 years; earned several degrees; taught junior high children with problems for more than 40 years in Tampa, Florida....retiring finally at age 79.
She exhibited a sharp wit, a wry smile and suffered fools poorly....and in one of my favorite moves to show her independence, bought herself a bright red Mustang convertible for her 70th birthday.
To each member of the family she celebrated their birthday with $50 in coins. She collected coins, and passed them along to the various children, grandchildren and great grandchildren for many years.
She could never refuse a person suffering....family or not. She was "Mom" to hundreds of souls over the years, and founded a special organization for her fellow teachers at Monroe Junior High called the MEA (Monroe Education Association)....they met every Friday afternoon at my Elks Lodge to visit, laugh, and have a few drinks.....it was all about the teaching comraderie.
A Life well-lived........Fran, you will be missed by all.
Duke
Bereavement Time Off
We lost "Mom" on July 4th, and our family is in the process of dealing with plans and ceremony, plus the usual family involvements.
She lived to nearly 84 years of age and was quite a stellar woman in achievement.
I'll be back later Friday or early Saturday.
Duke
Go Discovery, Go!
Here is to the crew of Discovery........
Salute....
Your bravery is entirely appropriate on this 4th of July.....
God Speed!
Duke
Read and Listen! - 4th of July!
Yes the words are significant..... Michelle Malkin is on point as usual...
"It's a good job, it's an honorable profession, and it's making the world a better and safer place," commander of the 2nd Airlift Squad Lt. Col. Dave Gould said. Michelle makes the point
...."Can reporters at the NYTimes say the same?"MIchelle makes the story happen with her post....for all of us to read...What a read indeed!
Duke
A Bad Week....Continues
I am once again explaining the slow posts......
We have had the week & 1/2 from hell.....
First of the week we had to put down our "Bandit"...our 13 year old cat....we had from from kitten on....he had diabetes, hyperthyroid, etc.....It was difficult...
The Duchess' Mom is in the hospital, as she had been for 1.5 weeks, and now it got serious.... we thought she might not make it through Saturday night. We have family in from Seattle, Houston, etc. Hospice is now involved.
Last night we came from a short, enjoyable, family 4th celebration by my family to find we had no power at home....turns out the transformer for the area...behind our home...was blown for reasons unknown. Relpaced at 2:30AM......we slept little.....Then the water was bad....pressure dropped due loss of electricity, and we "sucked" sand, etc. into the house. Now cleaning all the faucet screens.....
& The blowing of the electric apparently flew the modem for our cable attachment out the window. The modem is bad and must be replaced (Wednesday, of course, as this is a Holiday!)....
Welcome to our world!
Duke
1500 to 1 - The Odds Tell the Tale!
"Your people are so valuable that we wish to have 1,500 of ours in replacement of 1 of yours!"
This tells a tale.....a big tale.....a tale of values.
The Islamofascists/Hamas Terrorists/ et al ....
They speak from the standpoint of who values who and how much.
They know they have no bargaining power. Just one lonely 19 year old soldier. The Terrorists still value him so very much they feel the Isrealis will trade for hundreds in return.
Perhaps they do not believe this. Perhaps they never plan to relase the young Isreali soldier. Perhaps he is already dead of the rumored 3 bullet wounds, and they are playing for time to try to stop the Isrealis from responding to "declared war" with "declared war"....
Who knows, but the facts are that the terrorists have bitten off more than they can chew in terms of what they will reap from this "tunnel and take" gambit.
Now the end game approaches, and top Hamas leaders will not be taken....they will be killed!
Now the furor from the UN enters, and they decry the terrible Isreali folk while ignoring the continuing threats/action by the Palestinian "Clueless Brigades".....
Time for Isreali resolve, and the perhaps-loss of a lone soldier to kill off the leaders of the terrorist Hamas in exchange......
Watch Palestine fall.....watch them kill themselves.....watch the Liberal UN and the rest of the Liberals (read France, particularly) react with horror that the Isreali people will actually seek to defend themselves.
Idiocy from the terrorists......support from the UN.
Abandon the UN!
Now!
Let them howl in pain and scream for support.....let them decide what they need most....support for terrorist organizations/nations, or U.S.A. funds......
Make the statement NOW!
Mad, you bet I am.....tired of my tax dollar supporting Anti-American UN policies and statements!
Nuff said
Duke
Blogging Slow!
There will be little action for a while on this blog as the Duchess' Mother has taken a turn for the worse, and the family has been called in.
Duke
Happy 4th of July Weekend!
Celebrate.....do the usual, hotdogs, burgers, fireworks, et al......
BUT.....
Remember why we do this thing! Remember the birth of our country. Remember the thoughts of the founders. Remember our Constitution!
This is my arch at the front of my home in Tampa, Florida.......flag flying proudly, and lit all night, for the entire July 4th weekend!
Both because I love them, and for the significance they provide, one of the two plants composing the arch's greenery is "Bleeding Hearts".....
Bleeding hearts speak loudly for the folks who give of themselves for our country and for the right of us all to continue living the best life imaginable.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Duke
Takes No Guts! -
It takes no guts to announce support or opposition to the launch, less than 3 hours from now of another U.S. Vehicle into space. It only requires that one weigh the subject and vote their own personal belief.
I, for one, am not too concerned with the launch. The odds are FOR the astronauts. The launches, 118 to date, are proven safe by margins much beyond the limits which could call for abandonment.
My problem is not with the launch. It is, instead, with the fact we are launching an ANTIQUE! This vehicle is 25 years old. Nothing short of decades old in terms of space knowledge.
Why, after these 2-3 decades, have we not provided our folks with an up-to-date vehicle? Money is the answer.
The United States has become a victim of its own bureaucracy. The equally antique NASA has made money such an integral part of this development of spacecraft that they have remained frozen in the old modes.
Much, I am afraid, like the development of many of today's state-of-the-art planes and fighting vehicles, the antique system of the US military/NASA shows just how woefully-prepared we are for new ideas. The entire concept of our formerly-well-proven ability to respond to needs is now grounded in the desparate fact of lockdown of ideas in view of costs. NASA has refused to play the game for most of its existance, and as a result it is not advancing.
A shame that the leading country in space travel is soon to be passed by China and others due our terrible flow of money-to-projects....not to RESULTS!
A crime by any standards.
Duke
