Bang, Zoom!

HATS OFF TO NASA

The space race had not even begun when, pre-Sputnik, Ralph Kramden famously told his wife Alice she was “going to the moon.”  Our parents only let us watch each week because at the end of each show they always made up and he’d say, “Baby, you’re the greatest.”

And just a dozen years later, we did!  We went to the moon!

Now, 54 earthbound years since Apollo 17, we’re going back.

Hats off to the crew, and to the tens of thousands of scientists and engineers and factory folks whose work led to the successful launch.

How exciting to think that this time, a series of missions will lead to permanent colonization and then a mission to Mars.

What a time to be alive.

HATS OFF TO OUR MILITARY

Their execution of the mission in Iran has been extraordinary.

I think it was a mistake in 1953 overthrowing the democratically elected government of Iran.

I think it was a mistake pulling out of the Iran Peace deal.

There are compelling arguments on both sides, but I’m not sure it was a mistake to join Israel in degrading Iran’s military capacity, as we have.

Either way, now that we’ve gone this far — since those in power there could hardly hate us more than they already do — I hope we do spend the next two or three weeks degrading it further . . . while doing all we can to avoid casualties.  (It should be noted that the Iranian regime purposely killed vastly more of its own citizens during this way than have we.)

THE KING’S SPEECH

I think it was appalling to see the wildly corrupt, vulgar egomaniac who is our president intersperse the good and hopeful things he had to say . . .

(it is good that the theocratic extremists’ military strength has been largely destroyed; it is to be hoped they will reopen the Strait in order to re-start their flow of oil revenue) . . .

. . . with wild lies

(“In one year, we’ve taken a dead and crippled country” — widely considered the envy of the world — “and made it the hottest country anywhere in the world by far” — China is cleaning our clock and job growth has been close to zero — “with no inflation” — inflation is heading back up) . . .

. . . and his trademark counterproductive, humiliating insults.

(Where was the part about the great majority of Iranian people, custodians of a proud 6,000-year culture, with whom we stand ready to build a respectful, prosperous peace?)

But that’s me.