Lunar Eclipse Right NOW
 

Look out at the moon! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/cool.png

Marvelous! The sheer sphericality of it.

Countless times humans beheld this sight, and only just over five hundred years ago did they figure out we're all clinging to the outside of spheres.

I'm thankful we no longer have opportunistic high priests and wise men trying to take credit for making the moon come back.

Middle Agers weren't that dumb - at least not the mariners and scholars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth_mythology

It was known in antiquity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_geodesy

**I remember in grade school, being taught that Columbus's crew was fearful of sailing off the edge.


The (mostly religious) view that heavenly orbs were perfect spheres, unlike the earth, was dispelled by Galileo and his telescope. Got him in a heap of trouble.

^^^ All I have to say is, thank God for the Scientific Revolution. Can you imagine the Conservatives saying; "If you don't vote Republican, the moon will never come back out!"

I know the meaning, but no. They would never say that knowing that the moon (for whatever reason) would come back out in a few hours and turn them into liars.

Or, rather, would expose them as liars.....


What they might have done is threatened the future removal of the moon and site this as an ill omen of what is to come. Which is pretty much what they still keep doing, but in different ways.

For, as Mit said, a vote for the Democrats is a vote to support Terrorism! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/tongue.png

In my more cynical moments I wonder if the global warming scare is a modern way of exploiting hidden knowledge of solar cycles by a power elite to impose a global carbon tax. Like there is such a rush to put it in place so when the climate cools down again in 20 years or whatever they can point to the tax and say "it saved us from armageddon, we must NEVER think of living without the global carbon tax - for it along with the exalted climatologists and (likely) the democrats have saved the Earth from the evil polluting capitalists (who are making money hand over fist trading carbon offset securities - after writing the regulations)."

Or equally likely, pre-empt an inevitable warming cycle by demonizing those against global carbon taxation as the cause of the warming. "Even WITH the global carbon tax, which was watered down by evil capitalists writing the regulations, global warming continues - so the exalted climatologists are vindicated as are (likely) the democrats for trying to save the Earth (though the warming was due to solar activity, greenhouse skeptics will be forever branded heretics for having pushed us over the tipping point).

"Knowledge is power."
Sir Francis Bacon, Religious Meditations, Of Heresies, 1597

While I doubt that is the case, I do not doubt societal interests on both sides trying to play it out to their best advantage.



From what I heard, we are supposed to be in a natural cooling cycle right now, so the lack of one (and the warming on top of that) gives me great alarm.

So long as they do not start outlawing campfires, I am not too worried about making things a bit greener. I just hope they do it in a functional constructive way rather than as knee-jerk.

Unfortunately most of our policy decisions seem to be knee-jerk with an end result of the people behind them making money either way they jerked the knee.

"A thousand years ago everybody knew that the earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on it. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."

- K, Men in Black

Cute quote.

But we also KNEW that the sun provided light and heat.


Some things never change just because we find out more about it! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/wink.png