Good bye, Sally

I read yesterday of the death of Sally Ride. With the news being full of the Penn State scandal and the Colorado shootings, her death didn't make huge headlines, but I’m guessing that wouldn’t have bothered her too much.

In case you don’t remember, Sally Ride was America’s first female astronaut. She flew on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. I remember thinking “what took them so long?” I understood the all-boys club of Mercury and Gemini, and I can even forgive them for Apollo. Remember, this was the time when boys played sports, and girls were cheerleaders. So in that world, pilots were men, and not women. And these space programs required pilots.

But by the time the Space Shuttle first flew in 1981, women’s roles had changed. While there were no female military pilots at that time, the shuttle was staffed with all kinds of people, not just pilots. Scientists and engineers were on board these as well. And women had shown that they too, could be scientists and engineers.

So it may have taken a while, but finally in 1983, Sally Ride actually became that first American woman in space. Never mind that the Russians had put a woman in space a full twenty years earlier, we finally got around to it. And while I’m not claiming to have extensively followed her career, she always seemed to handle herself with class and grace. Which is why she probably wouldn’t mind about the lack of huge headlines.

And then of course, there was this item in her obituary: “In addition to Tam O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years, Sally is survived by her mother, Joyce; her sister,…” Yes, her partner. As in life partner. And she didn’t tell the world until she had died. She actually had never hidden her sexual orientation; she just hadn’t made a big deal about it by going public. All her friends and associates knew, but it was just another part of her. She was intelligent, had dark curly hair, and was gay.

While I’m sure some will criticize her for this, I would think even the most homophobic person would have to give some grudging respect to the way she lived out her life. She was what she was, and while many probably wished she had come out and made it a cause, she lived a public life as privately as she could.

But now Sally Ride, at the age of 62, has passed, succumbed to pancreatic cancer. You can think what you want, or course. But I will remember her not only as an astronaut, but also as a role model, and an inspiration.

If upon my own death, I am viewed as such, then I guess I really didn’t do too bad.

America As We Know It: Is It Over?

Well, that’s what they keep telling me. After the Supreme Court approved the Affordable Health Care Act. You see, politicians are experts at the “Here’s what’s going to happen” scenario. They use this tactic all the time. They come up with worst case scenarios, and say that they’re going to take place. Inevitably, that never happens. But it doesn’t matter, because by then they’ve moved onto another “It’s going to happen” scenario, and most people have forgotten the old one. Just a few examples…

1)  If we approve the auto bailout, we’ll have the government in charge of the car companies. Nancy Pelosi will be running GM, telling us exactly what kind of car we should have. Really, they all said it. All the politicians, radio hosts, everyone. Of course this didn’t happen. Instead, the car companies survived, are selling lots of cars, and have actually increased their hiring. Pretty much a best case, or at least a “pretty-good case” scenario.

2)  If Obama is elected, he’s coming for your guns. Right after the 2008 election, it was almost impossible to buy ammunition, due to the hoarding. Because Obama was going to take it all. Well, that never happened. So now they’re saying he’s waiting till his second term. Of course that’s not going to happen. Even if he wanted to, he’d never have the votes for it. But the NRA keeps saying this, and people keep believing it.

3)  If Obama is elected, he’s going to take your savings. Really. I know of one couple who actually cashed in their 401(k) when Obama was elected. Yes, they took a significant penalty on that. But they were so convinced he was somehow going to take their own money. Of course that didn’t happen. You would think they would be mad at the people who led them to believe that. Of course, they’re still mad at Obama.

4)  If Obamacare is passed, it will be the end of America as we know it. Really, I've heard that more than once in the last week. Back in October of 2010, one prominent senator said that “In the next year or so” we will have to dramatically cut the military because we can’t pay for it. Well, the next “year or so” has come and gone, and we still have a military. 

5)  Obamacare will ruin the doctor patient relationship. This one can’t be true, because that relationship is already ruined. Anyone who thinks doctors make the decisions has not spent any time arguing with the insurance company. A doctor may request a procedure, but the insurance company rep on the phone is the one who decides whether it will be covered or not. And they will also tell you which doctor you can or can’t see. So this one just doesn’t make any sense. 

6)  If we don’t drill drill drill, gas prices will soon be over $5 a gallon. Somehow nobody is talking about that right now. But just for the record, it didn’t happen. Yeah, I know. “But it’s going to!!!! “

You know, I have no problem with mistaken predictions. If a weatherman predicts rain based on his data, and the storm misses us, that’s a mistake. But if he says there’s going to be a tornado just to scare people, that’s completely different. 

So forget the “what’s going to happen.” Really. Because those are almost never right. Maybe they’re lying, maybe they’re just wrong. Either way, people saying these things do not deserve your trust.