Lack of ethics destroyed Challenger space mission.

"We all knew if the seals failed, the shuttle would blow up!" - Roger Boisjoly.

Roger Boisjoly was an engineer working for the Morton Thiokal company which supplied parts for NASA at the time of the Challenger space shuttle disaster back in January 1986. Months before the disaster he, along with three other employees, remembers speaking to the managers of his company about his belief that the elastic seals on the rocket booster (SRB) were faulty.

The outermost seal, also known as an O-ring, had been designed to seat itself and then flex along with the joint where two individual parts of the SRB came together. It was discovered, however, that instead of staying seated in its place during periods of flexion the ring would often shift out of position allowing exhaust to escape. This hot gas would then damage the ring.

Cold temperature was also noted to be a safety concern. Engineers working on the project knew that freezing temperatures would cause the rings to stiffen. Once they were incapable of flexing, gas was bound to escape. One spark is all it would take cause the SRB to explode, as well as the shuttle itself. This is what Boisjoly had tried so hard to warn everyone about.

At around this same time, the Morton Thiokal company were in the middle of negotiating with NASA on the renewal of their contract. Ethical or not, it is believed that the company's plan was to keep Boisjoly's warnings low key until after the new deal was "sealed."

NASA evidently was aware that there was a problem. A day before the scheduled launch NASA and Morton Thiokal held a teleconference to decide once and for all if the shuttle was flight worthy. After one last debate the managers of the company gave the okay to proceed as planned.

Boisjoly was alarmed upon hearing this! This January had been the coldest on record in Florida; he knew the rings were sure to fail. Behind the scenes he made attempt after attempt to cancel the flight. Only moments into the flight, the shuttle was lost. The company managers had gambled on the other people's lives and lost.

Unfortunately Boisjoly was branded a "whistle blower" by his colleague's and was ostracized by the engineering community at large. I, however, believe there should be more people out there like Boisjoly who will step up and do the right thing even when you stand alone. You are a hero in my book.

Others also have acknowledged his bravery before the disaster. He was given the Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1988.

Mr. Boisjoly, you will be remembered for your honesty and integrity. May you rest in peace. April 25, 1938 – January 6, 2012.

Kennedy's Eery Foreshadowing of Day of Own Funeral

JFK made private recordings of his conversations before his assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

In a scheduling discussion three days before his killing, JFK comments on what would become the day of his funeral.

Kennedy - "Monday?" he asks. "Well that's a tough day."

Staff Member - "It's a hell of a day, Mr. President."

MSNBC.com, Secret Tapes of JFK's Last Days Released, 24 January 2012.

No political progress since the days of Kennedy...

The conversation below speaks for itself.

In a conversation with political advisers about young voters, Kennedy asks, "What is it we have to sell them?"

"We hope we have to sell them prosperity, but for the average guy the prosperity is nil," he says. "He's not unprosperous, but he's not very prosperous. ... And the people who really are well off hate our guts."

Kennedy talks about a disconnect between the political machine and voters.

"We've got so mechanical an operation here in Washington that it doesn't have much identity where these people are concerned," he says.

MSNBC.com, Secret Tapes of JFK's Last Days Released, 24 January 2012.

THE WAR IS OVER: Official message.

Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn

They [Soldiers] will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high. One of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of the American military will come to an end. Iraq's future will be in the hands of its people. America's war in Iraq will be over.

President Obama, 14 December 2011

The magnitude of what this Nation and our Soldiers have accomplished in Iraq is unprecedented. We have never been more proud of our Army – our Soldiers, Civilians and our Families. You freed over twenty-five million people from tyranny and given hope when hope was forsaken. Our Army provided new opportunity for the people of Iraq. No other Army in the world could have accomplished what you have done - Only American Soldiers.

Throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn, our Soldiers embodied physical and mental toughness and courage under fire. Over the past eight years, the quality of our Soldiers has stood in stark contrast to the desert sands. Just as the WWII generation defeated tyranny across the globe, a new generation - galvanized by the attacks of September 11th - bravely defeated tyranny once again. Even during the darkest days in Iraq, our Soldiers never wavered in the face of growing doubt. They continued to risk life and limb for a cause larger than themselves. For their heroic action, they received nearly 9,000 awards for valor including two Medals of Honor, 16 Distinguished Services Crosses, and 408 Silver Stars.

We remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, our Wounded Warriors, our Gold Star Families, and all of our loved ones who have been touched by the horror of war. Their sacrifices have given meaning to our values and ideals. For that, we thank them. A grateful Nation will always remember, respect, and appreciate these heroes as the Next Greatest Generation.

We are extremely proud of all of our Soldiers, Civilians, and Families. Our Army has once again proved that it is America's Force of Decisive Action. Thank you for a job well done. Army Strong!

//Original Signed//

Raymond F. Chandler III

Sergeant Major of the Army

//Original Signed//

Raymond T. Odierno

General, United States Army Chief of Staff

//Original Signed//

John M. McHugh

Secretary of the Army

Booth Saved Lincoln's Life

Close relatives of the Booth and Lincoln most people associate with the names had their very own twist of fate. And on one occasion Booth saved Lincoln's life.

One night at a railway station in Jersey City, NJ. Edwin Booth saved the life of a young man who had been pushed into the small space between the train and it's loading platform. As the man fell the train also began to move...twisting him into a position that he could not recover from.

Realizing the man's peril and without regard for his own safety, Edwin quickly snatched the collar of the man's jacket and yanked him from death's grip back onto the platform. The man turned to face his rescuer and to his astonishment he saw that it was none other than the famous actor Edwin Booth.

Edwin came from a family of actors, including his younger brother John Wilkes who later assassinated President Lincoln. Ironically the young man Edwin saved at the train station that night was none other than President Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln.

Edwin is reported to have said that saving Robert was the only thing that comforted him after learning that his brother murdered the President. The event devastated Edwin to the end of his days.

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Edwin had a friend travelling along with him the night he saved Robert Lincoln. Ironically it was John T. Ford, the owner of the theater where John Wilkes committed treason.

Although Edwin Booth had been born in the South he was a Lincoln sympathizer. It was a fact that tore the relationship between him and his younger brother. After Edwin saved Robert Lincoln's life he had befriended the Lincoln's...a fact which only made the assassination all that much harder to bare.

Another interesting fact was that one of John's conspirators fled the US after the assassination and joined the Swiss guard whose duty it was to protect the Vatican in Rome (of all places). He was later found out and shipped back to the United States. He was charged with treason.

Cut Military Entitlements?

You greedy GOP bastards! How about cutting your own UNEARNED retirement before you cut the entitlements of people who quite literally put their lives on the line for YOU every day for 20 years!

Bess and Sir Walter's Head

"Would you like to speak with Walter?" - Raleigh's wife to visitor's postmortem.

It is famously known that Sir Walter Raleigh was a court favorite of HM Queen Elizabeth I. It was a shock for Elizabeth when she learned that Raleigh had secretly married one of her own ladies in waiting "Bess" Throckmorton. He was jailed by the jealous queen, the first of many trials the marriage endured.

After Elizabeth died, Raleigh was tried for treason. Not for marrying a lady in waiting, but because he was implicated in a plot to overthrow the new King James I. He was sentenced to death and taken to the ominous Tower of London where he wrote, "The History of the World". He was eventually released in 1616.

After Raleigh's release he set sail for South America in search of the lost city of gold, El Dorado. His son, Walter Jr.,  was killed during their attack on the Spanish settlement San Thome. Walter senior had also been captured. The Spanish Ambassador appealed to an already disgruntled King James I of England to reinstate Raleigh's death sentence. It was approved and Raleigh's head rolled.

Through it all, however, Bess and Raleigh remained steadfast in their devotion to one another. Even in death Raleigh was with Bess. In a red leather bag Bess kept his embalmed head. She frequently asked guest's if they, "would like to speak with Walter?" (I think in any century that would have been a little odd.)

It was only when Bess died decades later that she finally parted with Walter's head. This is where the story is unclear. One account says that the head was then reunited with the rest of its body in Raleigh's tomb. But another states that after Bess's death  it then passed to Carew, their only living son. Carew in turn kept the head until his own death in January 1668 and it was placed inside the casket with him. This would have been fifty years after the beheading.

Either way...that's one strange, but loyal family!