Planting The Flag

The new movie celebrating Neil Armstrong as the first man on the moon slides right past the planting of an American flag on the moon. Forget it, Jack, it's Hollywood and waving the flag is for redneck rube Trump voters, amirite? Anyway, the moon landing was a human achievement, not an American one. Set aside that Kennedy had announjced a space race against the Soviets, who had an early lead due to their expertise with heavy rockets. Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin had challenged American know-how and Kennedy responded with a race to the moon. But humanity won!

But forget Kennedy. By the time Nixon was there to congratulate the astronauts we were a different country. Here is E.B. White writing in the New Yorker back in July 1969:

The moon, it turns out, is a great place for men. One-sixth gravity must be a lot of fun, and when Armstrong and Aldrin went into their bouncy little dance, like two happy children, it was a moment not only of triumph but of gaiety. The moon, on the other hand, is a poor place for flags. Ours looked stiff and awkward, trying to float on the breeze that does not blow. (There must be a lesson here somewhere.) It is traditional, of course, for explorers to plant the flag, but it struck us, as we watched with awe and admiration and pride, that our two fellows were universal men, not national men, and should have been equipped accordingly. Like every great river and every great sea, the moon belongs to none and belongs to all. It still holds the key to madness, still controls the tides that lap on shores everywhere, still guards the lovers who kiss in every land under no banner but the sky. What a pity that in our moment of triumph we did not forswear the familiar Iwo Jima scene and plant instead a device acceptable to all: a limp white handkerchief, perhaps, symbol of the common cold, which, like the moon, affects us all, unites us all.

Whatever. This is how you get more Nixon.

 

 

Comments

[Eye Doctor .]

Tommy boy

Perhaps you should explain why you think Sessions and Trump would need to play a game of deception.

Your theory makes absolutely no sense.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Ignatz: save yourself by working out your own Salvation ...--

Ben demonstrates his profound ignorance with another lackwitticism.
Try to absorb Ephesians 2:8-9 before it's too late; your very life might be demanded of you tonight.

[Another Bob]

And “Civil” would also be a wonderful way for prog money people to directly control news.

[lurkersusie]

You've gotta live Millennials

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hLpE1Pa8vvI

[Goontown]

Lazy and indolent service is the default to 'saved by grace, nor works '

No comment on the Parable of Talents?

[lurkersusie]

Grr love

[Goontown]

'not' works..

[Jim Eagle]

Iggy,

You could have stoped here: Ben demonstrates his profound ignorance

[Eye Doctor .]

Tommy boy

Is Lorretta Lynch corrupt?

[Goontown]

Plus...how does Matthew 23 apply to nonbelievers?

Truly your confusion is not assisting your salvation.

[maryrose]

Hillary and Comey and Obama:
They are so transparent in their contempt for us.
Second rate people, deplorable, get in their faces, bring a gun to a knife fight,and they call us 2nd rate talent?
These are truly despicable, traitorous people and they need the full force of the law to punish them for their crimes.

[Eye Doctor .]

Is Eric Holder corrupt?

[Eye Doctor .]

Tommy boy

Who do you consider to be the enemy?

[Kevlar Kid]

"Civil".... blockchain for blockheads.... not enough *VALUE CREATION* from sub-par content creators...this effort will go the way of Air America and other projects.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Thanks for that Golden Key link Kevlar.
Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things...:)

[Bela1]

Captain,
I saw this on the other thread...

>>>I married her 'cause she does all those little 'things' I like, and for the money. But mostly the money.

Now, it's like getting pegged by a walrus on crank...

KILL ME, KILL MMEEE.....
Posted by: Benny Domenech at September 03, 2018 12:30 PM (9oyUx) <<<

I thought it was an actual quote from Meghan's hubby.

[Eye Doctor .]

Very telling that you wont answer the easiest of question, Tommy

[Kevlar Kid]

you are especially welcome, Ig. :D

[Kevlar Kid]

Pin has holographic properties. :D

[Goontown]

Another drive-by paintball misses its target..lol Ignatz..

[Pinandpuller]

It's interesting, someone said that Vietnamese have moved into the former Jewish ghetto in Warsaw.

[narciso]

It's fake but accurate, bela.

[Kevlar Kid]

it's 6PST here. time for some sock slidin' on the new floors. Anya barks her ass off and does this move to get up on her hind legs to try and emulate her Paw's "West Coast Moves." Mrs. Kid is the one to watch though! :D

[Goontown]

Dont yall get tired of erroneous opinions, attitudes and beliefs?

[Jim Eagle]

Beyond the crowing, and cheerleading from ESPN, the cheat Sharipova loses to a fierce young lady from Spain. Now ESPN is discussing how Sharipova lost not how Suarez won. Another reason ESPN is an asshole network. Really.

[Kevlar Kid]

one last thing before i go. it looks like impeachment is in the bag now:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/us/politics/patten-fara-manafort.html?emc=edit_na_20180831&nl=breaking-news&nlid=63901433ing-news&ref=cta

/s

[Catsmeat]

Yes, I'd agree that's likely, Clarice--he was the kind of man who heard stories in bars on top of meeting many people on his travels, and he was in Malaysia. First time I taught this, mirabile dictu, there was a kid from Malaysia in the class.
He knew all about this province and its colonial history and helped us all out a lot.

[Pinandpuller]

I guess the nonce is over. I went to bed at about 7 this AM and got up about 4:00. I have three days off in a row.

[Tom R]

Brian May and Jeff Baxter got nothing on Alicia Keys:

Jeff Baxter comes to Huntsville a lot on business. Friend of mine attended a briefing he was at and got his autograph when it was over. He said Baxter emanated coolness.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Not sure why this story about the gal rescuing the Springer Spaniel was directed at me but it was certainly a nice one.
I always liked Springer's, but could never find a black and tan one, hence my love for Gordons.

[Another Bob]

“not enough *VALUE CREATION* from sub-par content creators”

Agree KK, but is creating content the real point? Has a money-laundering smell to me, especially considering the offshore element involved.

[Another Bob]

I’ve wondered how Skunk got his entree. No formal training in anything relevant, correct?

[jimmyk on iPhone]

Suarez-Navarro bounces Sharapova in straight sets. I’m not so anti-Sharapova like JiB, but her screaming gets tiresome. And I like the scrappy undersized players like S-N, Halep, over the Amazons.

[Pinandpuller]

If that video is an art project then the artist just one upped Sacha Baron Cohen:

https://www.ibraaz.org/interviews/211

[Jim Eagle]

Maugham served in the ambulance corp in Spain with Dos Passos and Hemingway. Wonder how those peace breaks went drinking Spanish wine?

Born in France and Died in France but is considered a British writer. Go Figure.

[Janet 🚬]

That Comey tweet is something.
What a pompous ass.

[Dave (in MA)]

Somehow I'd missed the fact that Mizz McCannzz was married to Red State's Augustine the Plagiarist.

[Pinandpuller]

Tom Sholz is working with the NSA to turn Marshall Stacks into microphones.

[narciso]

Yes i left that part, out because he's been pretty sharp, of late,

[Dave (in MA)]

https://twitter.com/Ahmadinejad1956/status/1036685396837625856

LOL

[narciso]

Meanwhile mauve states even more selective defector herr Erickson misses the point about christianity.

[Eye Doctor .]

Tommy boy

Do you acknowledge the glaring similarities between Russiagate and Plamegate?

[Clarice Feldman]

I hope the Vietnamese have better luck there than did the previous occupants:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfbWsjeePKg&frags=pl%2Cwn

[Janet 🚬]

Is that real, Dave?

Oh my goodness....

[narciso]

Almost as bad as the comments here:

https://mobile.twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1035519430011310080

[Dave (in MA)]

Apparently, Janet.

[Pinandpuller]

The Jewish Renaissance Movement in Poland (JRMiP) calls for the return of 3,300,000 Jews to Poland in order to re-establish the annihilated Jewish community. The movement was initiated by Israeli-born artist Yael Bartana in 2007 and has since spread internationally. It aims to create an atmosphere for a Jewish appearance in Europe. The Jews of today are not the same people who were expelled from Europe—the Europeans of today are not the ones responsible for the ethnic cleansing. This may be the appropriate time to unite again—and change Europe and Israel for the better.

Full Video https://vimeo.com/groups/269503/videos/84214502

[James D.]

These are truly despicable, traitorous people and they need the full force of the law to punish them for their crimes.

Amen, maryrose!

[Jim Eagle]

Off to bed.

Slaap Lekker, tot morgen

The Federer match is a big nothing burger for me. MIllman will be lucky to get a point. And, jimmyk, don't you think the ESPN homily on Sharipova was ovef the top for someone who is a cheat and a loser? Suarez Navarro wans't even mentioned until minute 3. This is what is wrong with sports in America. We glorifiy drug cheats in Athletics to the detriment of our kids in Sports. Just my 2 cents.

[narciso]

Good grief that was a phillip roth tale, operation shylock. This is what he wrote before he went into literary hibermation.

[Dave (in MA)]

What the hell kind of commie BS is this?

The new movie isn't going to show the MTV flag, either.

[narciso]

That was right around the time of superman 2, even though they filmed them back to back

[Pinandpuller]

It might have been the stains on his shirt, or the name tag, or the look of concentration as he priced a shopper's bag of potatoes. But pictures of former "Cosby Show" star Geoffrey Owens, who played the son-in-law of Bill Cosby's character for five seasons, now working as a cashier in Clifton, New Jersey, stirred people this Labor Day weekend.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cosby-show-actor-geoffrey-owens-defended-after-photos-of-him-bagging-groceries-go-viral/

[Miss Marple (the real one)]

You know, it's hard for some people to understand why I like this web site.

I ran across a Ted Talk which explains it.

"Isolation is the dream-killer, not attitude."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2rG4Dg6xyI&feature=youtu.be

[Dave (in MA)]

It wouldn't surprise me if there's an uptick in the number of acting jobs the guy gets now.

[joan]

I keep going back to the lines in E.B. White's little essay, "What a pity that in our moment of triumph we did not forswear the familiar Iwo Jima scene and plant instead a device acceptable to all: a limp white handkerchief, perhaps, symbol of the common cold, which, like the moon, affects us all, unites us all."

Whenever I read any comment or article about the USA and our response to aggression (Iwo Jim ... think Pearl Harbor) my response is 'they started it, we'll finish it', and I don't waste a moment feeling any emotion except scorn and contempt for their feeble attempt to make me feel shame.

[Tom R]

A Trump/Sun Tzu oped from March 2017 that turned out to be highly prophetic.

https://thunderbird.asu.edu/knowledge-network/suntzu-trump-doctrine

[joan]

And, continuing my thought about White's comments:

When did anything in history 'unite us all' ???!!!

[narciso]

Surprise, perhaps not quelle:

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1LJ1WZ?__twitter_impression=true

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

She is a very attractive dog rescuer;

[Captain Hate]

No wonder Patterico likes Erickson.

[narciso]

Lucky dog.

[Bubarooni]

My entire family was glued to the tv the night of the moon landing. I was probably in first grade but knew something big was happening. My older brother was probably fifth grade and was reading a book about the Eastern Front in WWII. I can remember my Dad hollering at him to put the book down because something BIG was about to happen.

I had no doubt that something big was happening and watched with rapt attention. Of course, I also had no doubt that after that night that by this time in my life I'd be tooling around in an aerocar that had really cool sound effects.

There have been other let downs since then but, the absence of an aerocar with really cool sound effects is one that still stings.

[narciso]

Now egghead does raise a point, he didn't intend to make, Christianity was the religion of the West and it is,growing in South America ( a strong reason why the right in Brazil is,resurgent, for example) and in Africa. But in the former atmosphere it is relatively weak.

[Dave (in MA)]

Well, did you think you'd have a little glass rectangle that would let you make pictures of your lunch available to everybody in the world?

[Tom R]

No idea who created this meme but I’m guessing someone on The Donald subredddit. MAGA will always win the meme war.

https://twitter.com/kelemencari/status/1036761885113307137?s=21

[rich]

evening all. fast moving thread ...

i got nothing on this. Maybe it is the way Hollywood movies are financed ... they get big subsidies from abroad and have to make money abroad ... so, they eliminate the US flag waving.

but they're commies as well, so there's that. (i vaguely recall some French commie made some grand speech during the liberation of Paris ... totally left out the US).

[rich]

>>>There have been other let downs since then but, the absence of an aerocar with really cool sound effects is one that still stings.

Posted by: Bubarooni | September 03, 2018 at 09:56 PM<<<

very funny.

[Beasts of England]

Skunk had a neighbor who was a big shot in aerospace (Lockheed, I think...) and they were casually discussing some of the Star Wars concepts (not the movie) and Skunk demonstrated an amazing understanding of its complexities. The rest is history...

[Beasts of England]

Tom R - do you get up to Huntsvegas on a regular basis? I'd be happy to meet you for a beverage...

[rich]

Posted by: Dave (in MA) | September 03, 2018 at 09:20 PM

or a UM flag ... Apollo 15.

[sbwaters]

Erikson == Category Error == Zero.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I remember my little sister and I were swimming in the pool in the evening and felt extremely put upon to have to dry off and go inside to watch some fuzzy black and white pic of some dude hoppin around in the sand.
Then we jumped back in the pool.

[narciso]

So where the real hardcore resistance it wasn't the gaullists, as much as they pretend to be. Of course if it wasn't for the ribbentrop pact the German could not have concentrated all their forced westward.

[Captain Hate]

After cleaning myself off after viewing Patterico's litter box, with only narc and two others not needing to be scooped out (has the number of retards there declined steeply?), I hope Tom is correct because those clowns are 100% behind Sessions being at odds with DJT. Having those tools get smoked, particularly the head monkey, is almost too delicious to contemplate.

[boatbuilder]

When did anything in history 'unite us all' ???!!!

Posted by: joan | September 03, 2018 at 09:37 PM

Jeez, joan--have you forgotten the McCain funeral already?

[Tom R]

Beasts,

Pretty much every day. Several microbreweries to choose from.

[boatbuilder]

Our second springer, Lilly, is now 13 years old; getting a little batty and going deaf but still sweet, loving and goofy.

55 lbs is a big springer.

[Beasts of England]

boatbuilder for the win!! :)

Nytol

[lyle]

Baxter emanated cool

Practically defined it. One of my meta guitar heroes. Meta, people!

[joan]

boatbuilder: lol!

[Beasts of England]

No kidding, Tom R? I had no idea. Shoot me an email: batcanalytic at yahoo dot com and we'll meet at Straight to Ale or somewhere around the 805 Campus, if that works for you...

[Tom R]

I didn’t start watching until the 3rd quarter but FSU’s offense looks like crap so far.

[rich]

lol ... hope they can keep it going.

[boatbuilder]

Apparently Catholics are supposed to "speak out" against "climate change" but keep silent about sexual abuse of children by their priests, and the coverup by those in charge. Got it, Francis.

[Eye Doctor .]

Sessions must go!

[boatbuilder]

'night.

[rich]

gonna to the peep show.

[Bubarooni]

Thank You Rich.

Helps to deaden the still lingering pain!

[rich]

Posted by: Bubarooni | September 03, 2018 at 10:32 PM

I imagined myself in a traffic jam, on the 495 beltway, saying, "We were promised flying cars".

[sbwaters]

Ross Perot: Is “Swoosh” a great sucking sound?

[Frau Wau! Wau!]

Iggy - You shared that you liked *dogs* and Rush.
I thought you would enjoy the story of the young woman who carried the injured (dying) 55-pound dog on her shoulders down a mountain.

[Frau Wau! Wau!]

G'nytal

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I loved it Frau, but wasn't sure if you sent it my way because of the cute pooch or the cute single mom. :)

[narciso]

Belated birthday wishes frau and Mrs to.

All this feltercarb this weekend reminded of what was the opposite of That, a,perhaps too earnest but hopeful speech that was finishing up around this time, ten years ago.

[JimNorCal]

.

[Dave (in MA)]

Patterico@Patterico
 I'll pay Ford $10 if they put Kaepernick in a
 commercial for F-150s so I can watch some dumbass
 torch his pickup on Twitter, who's with me

Fully ensconced in the Bubble.

[Miss Marple (the real one)]

Nike's stock closed at a little above 82 on August 31.

We can watch it slide tomorrow, for bonus entertainment.

[rich]

Posted by: Beasts of England | September 03, 2018 at 07:11 PM

he taught us how to lose. Jen wants to go back to those days.