The Downing Street Memo Hearing

epresentative John Conyers (D-MI) held a hearing today on the implications of The Downing Street Memo. The meeting was held in the basement of the Capitol, because the Republicans refused to allow the meeting to be held anywhere else in the Capitol building; they would not allow the Democrats access to any of the regular hearing rooms.

From The Hill.com:
...Sean McLaughlin, deputy chief of staff for James Sensenbrenner, (chairman of the Judiciary Committee) recently wrote to a minority staffer in more pointed language.

"I’m sitting here watching your 'forum' on C-SPAN," McLaughlin wrote. "Just to let you know, it was your last. Don’t bother asking [for a room] again."

Testimony at the hearing today was given by former Ambassador Joe Wilson; WoMD expert Ray McGovern, a 27-year CIA analyst who used to do daily briefings for former President Ronald Reagan; Cindy Sheehan, president of Gold Star Mothers for Peace, who lost her son in Iraq; and John Bonifaz, a Constitutional lawyer out of Boston. The hearing was shown live on C-SPAN 3 today, and will be rebroadcast at 8pm ET on C-SPAN 2 tomorrow, Friday June 17. The reairing can be seen on TV or via streaming video on C-SPAN's website.

As was expected, the MSM (mainstream media) has once again dropped the ball and ignored the story. Instead, it focused on a relatively minor (magnitude 5.2) earthquake in California, where there was no real damage nor loss of life. Predictably, when the Michael Jackson case was resolved, the MSM jumped on the next 'celebrity' story and focused all their attention yesterday on the autopsy report of the unfortunate Terry Schaivo. There are plenty of stories to cover, yet the MSM ignores the important ones. Plenty of news cameras were in attendance today to cover the Conyer's hearing, yet so far, none of the network news outlets have chosen to air the story. I'm not holding my breath, but ABC's Nightline crew was purported to have been present, so they may still air a blurb on the story.

At the conclusion of today's meeting, Rep. Conyers walked over to the White House and hand-delivered a letter, signed by 105 members of Congress and over 540,000 concerned Americans, asking the president to respond to the allegations in the Downing Street Memo. Conyers' previous letter, signed by himself and 88 other members of Congress, went ignored by the White House. So far, no news coverage of this either, with the exception of a small Associated Press piece.

"What a marvelous night for a moondance..."

f you've never looked through a telescope before, you'd be amazed what you're missing. There is a huge, difference between what you're familiar with, and what there is to be seen. Sure, you've seen numerous images of the Moon in books and on tv or film, but it just isn't the same as when you see it with your own two eyes.

When you look through a telescope, the only thing between you and the object being viewed is just a piece of glass; it is literally a window into the universe. Mountains, craters and the mare (seas) come alive. The best views are when the Moon is anywhere below 7/8ths full. When it is full, it has interesting features, but they seem smooth, as though they are painted on a ball. Looking at the Moon any other time gives depth and dimension to the features; craters let you peer deep into their hearts; mountains leap from the surface; the vast smooth mare are riddled with craters; some of the craters have smaller craters within their mountainous rings.

The images here were taken with a 35mm camera, shooting through the eyepiece of a moderate-sized telescope. In this case, it was an 8-inch Newtonian telescope on a Dobsonian mount. The size refers to the mirror used for light gathering. The eyepiece used offers a wide-field view. The pictures were being shot at very low power, allowing a view of the whole of the Moon. Clicking on these images lets you see a much larger version. Other eyepieces can get you so close that a single crater can fill your entire field of view.

Summer is a great time for astronomy. Contact your local astronomy group and see when they'll be taking their telescopes out for public viewings. The warm weather allows you to be out at night in relative comfort. If you happen to encounter a stranger on a street corner inviting you to look at the Moon or Jupiter through a telescope, take 'em up on their offer. Have a free look at the universe. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what is out there...