On My Way to the Shuttle Launch...
This week I'll be traveling to Cape Canaveral to witness the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. In fact, it may be the final launch for the entire Space Shuttle program if Congress cuts off funding for the next flight tentatively scheduled for June.
Either way, I was lucky enough to be selected as one of 150 people to attend NASA's ultimate Tweetup. We'll have two days of meetings and presentations by NASA officials and astronauts, tours of the Cape and launch facilities, culminating in the blast-off scheduled for 3:47 p.m. Friday, April 29 (which also happens to be my daughter's birthday and the Royal Wedding - you can see where my priorities are).
The whole point, from NASA's perspective, is to have all the Tweetup attendees do what they do best: Tweet. And post on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and everywhere else about their experience. Hey, it's good PR for the space program, or what will come post-Shuttle. So I won't be alone in this effort. My inbox is already clogged with posts from fellow attendees who can't seem to contain their excitement. And we're still four days away. In fact, as I write this, the astronauts are a few hours away from arriving at the Cape to begin the official countdown. (Yes, we'll be standing right next to the big countdown clock when it launches, just three miles from the pad).
Anyone who's interested can follow along on Twitter @dennisbailey, or follow the hashtag #NASAtweetup. I'll also be posting regularly on my Facebook page (facebook.com/dennisbailey). I've got three cameras packed and ready to go. OK, I'm a geek. Deal with it.
No Labels (except this one): I've been trying to figure out what this "No Labels" group is all about. They've been getting a lot of publicity, and while the premise is nice - "let's all be polite and non-partisan for the good of the country" - how realistic is it really?
I even attended the group's first meeting in Maine - no, not the one earlier this month that the press called the first meeting, the one last fall before the November election - and I walked away confused. Is it a third party? A movement? A coalition? Even more important to me, what does the group stand for? Apparently they take no position on issues. Gay marriage? No comment. Deficit reduction? No ideas. Bloated military spending? Next question.
Look, there's no way to address all the problems we face today without making somebody angry. In fact, I prefer an elected official who's going to do just that - shake up the status quo and get people mad and engaged. No Labels seems to be saying we should all lower the volume and work for the common good. But they can't seem to articulate what the "common good" is that we should all be politely working toward. Which is why, when I was asked about the group on a local TV show last week, I said, "When I hear the term "No Labels," I think, "No Ideas."
So I was glad to see a number of articles last week finally raising some questions about this group and its intentions. One of the best was by former Baldacci aide David Farmer whose column in the Bangor Daily News was headlined, "No Labels or No Substance?" Al Diamon, caustic as ever, also questioned 'No Labels Maine" mascot Eliot Cutler for "organizing what he calls 'a political gathering place for the thousands of Mainers who no longer feel connected to a political party.'" Wrote Diamon: "I thought that was what bars are for."
But my favorite analysis came from my old friend Rodney Quinn whose column in the Portland Press Herald criticized Cutler for waging an independent campaign based mostly on hubris and arrogance. Quinn, who even at his advanced age appears sharp as a tack, explained something that my liberal friends who are still distraught over the election of Governor LePage haven't figured out yet: if Cutler runs for governor again as an independent, the result will likely be the same: a split in the moderate/progressive vote and the reelection of LePage.
"The very term "independent" invokes stubbornness and unwillingness to compromise," Quinn correctly wrote. "Before the gentleman uncases his flute and pipes the children out of town, he should consider the ancient and honorable Democratic Party."
Then there were the comments by Bill Maher in Rolling Stone who questioned the whole idea that there are lots of moderate Republicans (Snowe and Collins excepted, I suppose) who are willing to work across the aisle to reach a middle-of-the-road consensus. He chided fellow comedian Jon Stewart for his Washington DC "Rally to Restore Sanity."
"I didn't agree with the premise of the march." Maher said, "which was that we need to bring moderates of both parties together. There are no moderates in the other party. "Moderate Republican" is like "friendly shark" or "straight priest." It just doesn't exist."
Playing in the middle of the road will get you run over. I'm not buying it.
Either way, I was lucky enough to be selected as one of 150 people to attend NASA's ultimate Tweetup. We'll have two days of meetings and presentations by NASA officials and astronauts, tours of the Cape and launch facilities, culminating in the blast-off scheduled for 3:47 p.m. Friday, April 29 (which also happens to be my daughter's birthday and the Royal Wedding - you can see where my priorities are).It'll be a star-studded affair. President Obama is attending with his kids, Rep. Gabby Giffords has been given the OK to attend to see her husband Capt. Mark Kelly, the commander of the Endeavour, blast off. Even actor LeVar Burton, who played Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation, has been tweeting about how thrilled he is to be joining us.
The whole point, from NASA's perspective, is to have all the Tweetup attendees do what they do best: Tweet. And post on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and everywhere else about their experience. Hey, it's good PR for the space program, or what will come post-Shuttle. So I won't be alone in this effort. My inbox is already clogged with posts from fellow attendees who can't seem to contain their excitement. And we're still four days away. In fact, as I write this, the astronauts are a few hours away from arriving at the Cape to begin the official countdown. (Yes, we'll be standing right next to the big countdown clock when it launches, just three miles from the pad).
Anyone who's interested can follow along on Twitter @dennisbailey, or follow the hashtag #NASAtweetup. I'll also be posting regularly on my Facebook page (facebook.com/dennisbailey). I've got three cameras packed and ready to go. OK, I'm a geek. Deal with it.
No Labels (except this one): I've been trying to figure out what this "No Labels" group is all about. They've been getting a lot of publicity, and while the premise is nice - "let's all be polite and non-partisan for the good of the country" - how realistic is it really?
I even attended the group's first meeting in Maine - no, not the one earlier this month that the press called the first meeting, the one last fall before the November election - and I walked away confused. Is it a third party? A movement? A coalition? Even more important to me, what does the group stand for? Apparently they take no position on issues. Gay marriage? No comment. Deficit reduction? No ideas. Bloated military spending? Next question.
Look, there's no way to address all the problems we face today without making somebody angry. In fact, I prefer an elected official who's going to do just that - shake up the status quo and get people mad and engaged. No Labels seems to be saying we should all lower the volume and work for the common good. But they can't seem to articulate what the "common good" is that we should all be politely working toward. Which is why, when I was asked about the group on a local TV show last week, I said, "When I hear the term "No Labels," I think, "No Ideas."
So I was glad to see a number of articles last week finally raising some questions about this group and its intentions. One of the best was by former Baldacci aide David Farmer whose column in the Bangor Daily News was headlined, "No Labels or No Substance?" Al Diamon, caustic as ever, also questioned 'No Labels Maine" mascot Eliot Cutler for "organizing what he calls 'a political gathering place for the thousands of Mainers who no longer feel connected to a political party.'" Wrote Diamon: "I thought that was what bars are for."
But my favorite analysis came from my old friend Rodney Quinn whose column in the Portland Press Herald criticized Cutler for waging an independent campaign based mostly on hubris and arrogance. Quinn, who even at his advanced age appears sharp as a tack, explained something that my liberal friends who are still distraught over the election of Governor LePage haven't figured out yet: if Cutler runs for governor again as an independent, the result will likely be the same: a split in the moderate/progressive vote and the reelection of LePage.
"The very term "independent" invokes stubbornness and unwillingness to compromise," Quinn correctly wrote. "Before the gentleman uncases his flute and pipes the children out of town, he should consider the ancient and honorable Democratic Party."
Then there were the comments by Bill Maher in Rolling Stone who questioned the whole idea that there are lots of moderate Republicans (Snowe and Collins excepted, I suppose) who are willing to work across the aisle to reach a middle-of-the-road consensus. He chided fellow comedian Jon Stewart for his Washington DC "Rally to Restore Sanity."
"I didn't agree with the premise of the march." Maher said, "which was that we need to bring moderates of both parties together. There are no moderates in the other party. "Moderate Republican" is like "friendly shark" or "straight priest." It just doesn't exist."
Playing in the middle of the road will get you run over. I'm not buying it.
Posted by Dennis Bailey at 4/26/2011 7:57 AM 
Categories: Maine politics, Maine governor
Tags: NASA No Labels Space Shuttle STS134 social media Twitter
Categories: Maine politics, Maine governor
Tags: NASA No Labels Space Shuttle STS134 social media Twitter
In my opinion Cutler could be worse than LePage if anyone like that is possible, beware of both as they only goal is personal ego gains and lobbyists that fund then. Neither in my opinion is a Patriot for Maine - that is the sad reality!
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