NASA's Lunar No-Fly Zones Explained.

In yesterday's post I mentioned that, earlier yesterday morning, I had heard on Neal Boortz' radio program that NASA was declaring certain areas of the Moon as no-fly zones.

I thought the announcement a bit odd, but didn't give it much thought until yesterday evening.

A search of the Internet led me to an article at the Hindu.com. Referencing an article from Science the writer explained that, because of the $30 million in prize money from Google and the X Prize Foundation, NASA felt the need to protect the historic and scientific value of sites containing artifacts from America's voyages to the Moon. Due to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty which says that the lunar surface has no owner, NASA's no-fly zone is not legally binding, but the agency felt that it needed to safeguard the discarded food and astronaut feces at the Apollo landing sites.

As one might expect, not everyone is buying NASA's explanation for the no-fly zones.

One writer suggest that NASA is holding back scientific progress by demanding these restrictions. He also suggests that the reason behind the lunar no-fly zones is that the Apollo lunar landings were actually a hoax.

Writers for other websites - such as ufodigest and realufos(1) realufos(2) - maintain that these restricted sites are military bases. Obviously, according to these folks, NASA does not want China or India (who will certainly have lunar expeditions in the near future) learning of these secret lunar bases. I'm sure that when China or India or whoever may win the Google Lunar X Prize declares that there are no lunar military bases, these ufologists will put forth the idea that, either NASA has bribed (or frightened) those involved, or that NASA has some sort of cloaking device which has made the bases invisible.

I want to make it clear that I don't fall in with those who deny that we've been to the Moon. This video is all the evidence I need.

Everyone Has Their Say.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the Catholic blogosphere has been abuzz over recent activities of the Rock Star formerly known as Father John Corapi.

Everyone has had their say:
The CMR brothers-
LarryD-
Lisa Graas-
Jimmy Akin- to name just a few.

RealCatholic TV's recent video is more about the reaction of the Catholic bloggers rather than Corapi himself.

I certainly don't want to come across as someone like this guy, but I am a bit taken aback by Mark Shea's comments on the Corapi/Black Sheep Dog situation. After a post saying we should all stop obsessing over Corapi, Shea has continued to write about him.

Yesterday, Shea had this gaping hole in Fr. Corapi's story. Very interesting post. But (there's always a but) I have no way of knowing the truth about Corapi's military record; it hardly seems relevant to what's going on now.

Another problem I have with Shea's handling of the issue is his decision to disable comments on his Corapi posts. It reminds me of Neal Boortz' refusal to allow callers to discuss abortion.

Late-night update:
Sadly,this latest Mark Shea posting doesn't change my opinion.

The Ignorant, Cowardly Bully and the SBA List.

Radio talk-show host, Neal Boortz ( AKA the the ignorant, cowardly bully) has some very odd views on abortion. His views on the subject appear to be stuck in the 1970's. I suspect that is when his current views were formed and he hasn't given any real, open-minded thought on abortion since then. His mind is closed on this ....not even allowing callers to mention abortion; he'll occasionally give us his thoughts on abortion but will not entertain any contrary opinion.

Boortz claims that nearly all the emails he receives concerning abortion are written from men. ( I'm not sure how he can identify the gender of every email username.) That's, evidently, enough evidence for him to declare that the "anti-choicers" are men who want to keep women under their proverbial thumbs. In Boortz' world, all women are "pro-choice" who favor legalized abortion.

I'm not sure how he'd explain The Susan B. Anthony List - an organization made up of self described pro- life feminists. I've never heard him mention the group's founder and president Marjorie Dannenfelser.

How does Boortz explain pro-life candidate,Carly Fiorina's victory in the California Senate Republican primary?

Likewise, how would Boortz explain pro-life candidate Sharron Angle’s victory in the Nevada Senate Republican primary?

In Neal Boortz' limited world view, pro-life feminists do not exist and therefore incapable of winning a political victory. Perhaps if he were to open his mind to the issue and discuss this with his listeners he might learn a thing or two.

Second Thoughts on Neal Boortz.

I should have known better.

Yesterday, I wrote a post telling how I had voted for Neal Boortz to be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, despite my objections to his stand on abortion. No sooner had I written that post, then Boortz went off on a screed that betrayed him to be more of a buffoon that I had previously thought.

Boortz' refuses to call those of us who are against abortion "pro-life". In his warped mind, we are simply "anti-choice" and that's it. To him, we care nothing about protecting life, we just want the government to take away a "woman's right to choose"; we want the government to hold a gun to a woman's head and force her to have a baby she doesn't want.

He says he will not discuss abortion because no one's mind will be changed by discussion (that doesn't prevent him from telling us his opinion....he just won't allow his callers to discuss the issue).

Boortz would have us believe that it is the extreme "anti-choice" element of the Republican Party that will forever prevent the Republicans from becoming a national party of consequence. He would have us believe that Obama's victory over McCain was brought about by those of us who oppose abortion.

Let's look at this realistically.

Let's suppose voter "A", for the most part, prefers the Republicans over the Democrats, but voter "A" supports "abortion rights". Boortz would have us believe that this voter will abandon the Republicans for the Democrats. It's true that voter "A" might very well leave the Republican Party, but his first choice would be the Libertarians.....not the Democrats.

In many ways, the Libertarians are closest to the Reaganesque values of smaller government, lower taxes and individual freedom. If it was the issue of abortion that was driving voters from the Republican Party, the Libertarian Party would be replacing it on the national stage.

On the contrary, many of us who want smaller government and lower taxes are reluctant to cast votes for Libertarian because of their rabid pro-abortion stance.

Unfortunately, when it comes down to selecting the President of the United States, charisma and "like-ability" has more sway with the voters than how the candidate stands on the issues. Obama had more charisma than McCain. The George Bush of 2000 and 2004 was more likable and down to earth than Al Gore or John Kerry.

Sadly, it's the perception that "this guy is like us" that makes the difference in the final count.

Ah ........... government by the people.

RHOF emails.

As I mentioned in an earlier post - Neal Boortz.....an Ignorant, Cowardly Bully.- while I may not disagree with Neal Boortz on every issue, I can never agree with his position on abortion.

It spite of Boortz' abominable views on abortion, I felt that his induction into the Radio Hall of Fame was completely appropriate. He's been on the air since Marconi and has contributed quite a lot to talk radio. I obliged when he went on the air and asked his listeners to go to the Radio Hall of Fame website and vote for him.

When he won, I received an email from the radiohof letting me know that I could let Boortz know I support him by having my name printed on a tribute page of the program for the Radio Hall of Fame presentation. It would only cost me $25 for the privilege.

Are they kidding? I've received my share of outrageous emails, but this one has to top the list.
Kelvin Williams, Nigerian scammer, has a better chance of getting money from me than the radio Hall of Fame.

Oh yeah, it's not just Boortz. When I voted for him, I also voted for Dr. Demento in another category and received the same offer from the RHOF to have my name listed in his tribute. They won't be getting money from me on this either.

Neal Boortz.....an Ignorant, Cowardly Bully.

I want to say from the start that I do not disagree with radio personality, Neal Boortz on every issue. We both agree that the Federal government is too large for the country's good. Neither of us are Obama fans and I don't have a big problem with Boortz' Fair Tax idea - though it should do more to combat government spending.

The one issue on which he and I will never agree is abortion and it is on this subject that I believe him to be an ignorant, cowardly bully.

He is guilty of ignorance when he states that the overall supporters of restrictions on abortion are men who wish to control women's reproductive organs. The men I know who are pro-life are just that...pro-life. The notion that men want to control women's reproductive organs is absurd beyond belief. He claims that any emails he receives condemning abortion are exclusively from men. It's as if women are predominately pro-abortion. I personally know more pro-life women than I do women who are pro-abortion. Is that because he and I travel in different circles?

He is a coward because he refuses to allow any phone calls on the abortion issue. Any caller simply mentioning the word will be immediately cut off.

He is a bully because, although he will not allow callers to comment on abortion, he does not hesitate to tell us his opinion on the subject. Needless to say, his opinion is hardly flattering to pro-life Republicans.

Boortz believes that the Republican Party will no longer be a national party of consequence so long as Republicans oppose abortion. On the contrary; Boortz needs to realize that his beloved Libertarian Party will never gain national prominence so long as their platform is pro-abortion. Conservatives appreciate the Libertarian views on the size of government and the need to lower taxes and spending, but we don't like the Party's abortion stance.
Boortz' abortion views may go a long way to explaining why he will never reach the popularity of Limbaugh and Hannity among Conservatives.