I wonder if the Emperor Honorius watching the Visigoths coming over the seventh hill could truly realize that the Roman Empire was about to fall. This is really just another page of history, isn’t it? Will this be the end of our civilization? Turn the page.
   -Captain Jean Luc Picard, “Best of Both Worlds Part 1″, Star Trek: The Next Generation

Technorati Tags: quotes

Thirty-six years ago, I stood mesmerized by the blurry, interrupted images on the television.

I was four years old, and I was inspired.

I didn’t fully comprehend the magnitude of the achievement, but I was excited none the less.

That inspiration lit my heart for years, and that inspiration broke my heart when the Challenger exploded in the Florida sky.

Thirty-six years ago, I stood mesmerized by the blurry, interrupted images on television.

That remains one of my earliest memories, and one of my most treasured.

What memories do we create now?

What do we do to create our desired future, rather than to avoid some catastrophe?

What do we do to inspire?

Paradise was lost long ago, like childhood and innocence never to be regained.

Inspiration can be created anew, but only if we have the courage to do so.

Technorati Tags: history, personal

In a recent post, I stated that President George W. Bush has not been showing leadership but instead has been playing politics at the expense of doing what is right for the nation, but he has an opportunity to do so by turning away from short-term political gain at any cost towards doing what is right for the nation, even if there is a political price to be paid.

The Democratic Party now has a similar opportunity to turn away from short-term political gain at any cost towards doing what is right for the nation.

No one in their right mind should have expected President Bush to nominate anyone less conservative than Judge John Roberts, and the Democrats in the Senate should recognize that unless Judge Roberts has committed some crime in the time since he was confirmed as a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, he should be confirmed for the United States Supreme Court.

Will this change the “balance” of the Supreme Court?

Yes…

But ANY nomination would change that “balance”, it is unrealistic to think that President Bush would nominate someone that would not reflect his often-stated views.

This is different than the nomination of John Bolton for United States Ambassador to the United Nations. I did not like the nomination of Bolton because of the contempt he had expressed towards that organization, along with the questionable behaviors he displayed towards matters of national security and accurate versus expedient intelligence in his prior career. Also, someone who mistreats subordinates has issues of character that I do not want in a person filling any diplomatic position, a job which is to advance the cause of my nation, not to ride roughshod over people at will.

It is difficult to perceive the nomination of someone who had made the statements Bolton had made regarding the UN to be perceived as anything other than Bush showing an upraised middle finger to the rest of the world. That is damaging to the interests of the United States and is NOT what is right for our nation.

Since Judge Roberts was found suitable for the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, unless something has changed in the last two years, there should be no issue with him becoming a Supreme Court Associate Justice, regardless of his views on particular cases.

The Democrats in the Senate need to show leadership in this matter and not present obstructionist tactics for some self-perceived short-term political gain. They need to do what is right for the nation, expeditiously move forward on the nomination, ask appropriate questions (not softballs, but not idiotic unanswerable questions), and vote on the nomination based upon the qualifications of the nominee.

If the Democratic Party wants to nominate judges, they need to win back the Presidency by presenting true leaders, not idiots like John Kerry.

Technorati Tags: opinion, politics

For the non-geeks out there (if any non-geeks read this…), James Doohan played “Scotty” in the original Star Trek series. In real life, Doohan was a genuine World War II hero. From CNN.com:

James Montgomery Doohan was born March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia, youngest of four children of William Doohan, a pharmacist, veterinarian and dentist, and his wife Sarah. As he wrote in his autobiography, “Beam Me Up, Scotty,” his father was a drunk who made life miserable for his wife and children.

At 19, James escaped the turmoil at home by joining the Canadian army, becoming a lieutenant in artillery. He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. “The sea was rough,” he recalled. “We were more afraid of drowning than the Germans.”

The Canadians crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren’t heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. The chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

A life to be proud of, even before he was 30.

His portrayal of Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott in Star Trek in no small part inspired me to work in the sciences; I suspect it worked a bit of magic on many others as well.

Despite being typecast after Star Trek, Doohan’s attitude stayed positive throughout, providing him with a fine epitaph:

In a 1998 interview, Doohan was asked if he ever got tired of hearing the line “Beam me up, Scotty.”

“I’m not tired of it at all,” he replied. “Good gracious, it’s been said to me for just about 31 years. It’s been said to me at 70 miles an hour across four lanes on the freeway. I hear it from just about everybody. It’s been fun.”

Another lesson to learn from him, to be able to say, “It’s been fun.”

It is difficult to explain what a huge effect the original Star Trek series has had on my life. I doubt I would have accomplished much of what I have achieved in my career without the dream presented by that show, and much of the good in my life would never have come to pass. Another piece of my childhood has slipped away, as is inevitable for us all.

Tonight, I will raise a glass of my favorite single malt Scotch in tribute to this fine man.

Much sadness…

Technorati Tags: personal

Today I made an appearance downtown
I am an expert witness because I say I am

And I said, “Gentlemen, and I use that world loosely,
I will testify for you, I’m a gun for hire, I’m a saint, I’m a liar.

Because there are no facts, there is no truth
Just data to be manipulated.

I can get you any result you like…
What’s it worth to you?”

Because there is no wrong, there is no right
And I sleep very well at night

No shame, no solution, no remorse, no retribution…
Just people selling t-shirts

Just opportunity to participate in the pathetic little circus
And winning, winning, winning…
   -Don Henley, The Garden of Allah

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Ann Althouse has an interesting post on a recent ruling on the limitations of First Amendment rights and the obligations of law enforcement that I recommend you read and consider.

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…is an old Chinese curse.

We are all cursed, are we not?

The baited breath with which Blogworld awaits the Supreme Court nomination by President George W. Bush gives new meaning to the phrase “the pause before the storm”.

There has been enough idiocy from both Democratic and Republican Senators in the past few weeks to fill volumes titled The Stupidest Things Ever Said even if comments on the upcoming nomination are ignored.

There has been enough idiocy from both left-wing and right-wing bloggers in the past few weeks to make any rational person question the value of the Internet.

Yet, I cannot turn away from the fundamental principles behind the Constitution, the democracy envisioned by Thomas Jefferson that we could never have achieved even in his day which now recedes ever farther into a utopian distance in the wake of irresponsible reactions to the acts of terrorism.

Terrorism is a tactic, not an ideology, but we have a “War on Terror” just as we have a “War on Drugs”, a so-called war that is equally effective (read “ineffective”) in both cases.

In other words, we are fighting the wrong opponent, but the majority with their refusal to make the effort to understand instead choose to jerk their knees to the detriment of us all.

Interesting times…

I think I could live without them.

Technorati Tags: commentary