The 'Right Stuff'

A New Lesson from an Old Film

My son gave me a DVD of that great movie about the pioneers of space: "The Right Stuff." I love that movie. My parents were aircraft engineers and my Dad was one of the early developers of the space program.

The film follows the original seven astronauts as they make their first space voyages in those little Mercury spacecraft. As Alan Shepard is about to ride the first Redstone rocket into space, news reporters posing as a diaper service are going through the Shepards' trash. Other reporters start going after the 'diaper service' guys. One of Mrs. Shepard's friends, watching all this from the window, says: "Now they're going after your diaper service" and Mrs. Shepard says "But I don't have a diaper service!" You get the picture here! Repeatedly we see them doggedly invading the privacy of astronaut families -- insensitive to the stress of watching a loved one ride a flaming rocket.

Life magazine paid the astronaut families a large sum of money for their stories. Yes, people want to know their stories, but I love the scene in "Apollo Thirteen" where Marilyn Lovell tells the networks they "won't put one piece of equipment on my lawn."

In that light, Thomas Sowell's Observations come as a similar breath of fresh air.

Chuck Yeager describes that quality known as "The Right Stuff" in his real autobiography. I wish I could remember it in its entirety but I think you can imagine the qualities described. Governor Palin has them for sure. Senator Obama showed the right stuff as well when, citing the circumstances of his own birth, he declared the children off limits.

Update:

Reporters: The question should not be "who's your Mama?" of someone who's not running for office, but "Who's Your Daddy?" of someone who is. Why isn't Campbell Brown following up on This Story at History News Network? Judith Apter Klinghoffer has some important information here but no one in the media seems all that interested.

A lot of people want to know more about Governor Palin, Here is a Great Place to Start!

Update:
Randy Alcorn Has These Thoughts on Governor Palin.