Columbia Discussion thread

Feb 1, 2003

[George W. Bush]

She was not piloting.

Good grief. No one was piloting that high up. No human being could do it. Even a B2 bomber is unflyable without computer contols.

[Howlin]

Whoever they are, they are heartless.

[valleygal]

I don't know. They are showing it but haven't said where it is yet.

[6ppc]

they now have smoking craters

That smoking crater comment on Fox is BS. The video shows where a hot piece started a grass fire, not a crater.

[Howlin]

Oooohhh....Fox needs to ditch this girl FAST.......she's awful.

[Dog]

CNN has some film of burning debris on the ground..

[Yaelle]

Well ... I'm just waiting for some dippy democrat to say that x42 never had this opportunity to look presidential.

I am ashamed to say that I was thinking about what sorts of national tragedies Bush has had to face during his young Presidency, and that little thought crept into my mind: that x42 was probably rueing that he didn't "get" such "cool" opportunities.

[Mamzelle]

Oh, news was made. It just got lost with more important events.

[betty boop]

Today is Chinese New Year's.

And also the Jewish Sabbath. The Israeli astronaut piloted the mission against that Bahgdad nuclear reactor back in the late '80s. I don't even want to think about the speculation my fevered little brain seemingly wants to engage in right now.

Officials have been telling us they're pretty confident this catastrophe is not a terrorist event. I think that we can probably rule out the heat-tile scenario. The critical question (at this point anyway) seems to be: What caused the fatal change in flight attitude? But then we are told that the normal blackout of flight data on re-entry may mean we haven't got the means to find out.

God bless our lost crew, and may He comfort their grieving families -- and also the American and Israeli people.

[Dog]

Her name is Daria Alexander......an air head.

[exhaustedmomma]

Local Houston news reporting that local astronauts and others going to Johnson Space Center. Media gathering out there.

Now I am hearing the families locally are being taken there. A memorial service is scheduled in nearby League City this afternoon... right out of the NASA area. This community is in shock. praying for them all!!

[valleygal]

Nasa's supposed to hold a press confernce at 3pm Eastern.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Do you have any specific reasons WHY we can rule out Heat Tile Failure? (I'm curious)

[Howlin]

Turn on CBS...they have new video.....UNREAL!

[Mamzelle]

Where in League City?

[CFC__VRWC]

What is WRONG with these people that would use a tragedy like this to further their one singleminded agenda?

I've been catching up on the thread, so I've not been posting. I assume with the above that you're referring to the RATS flooding C-SPAN's phone lines.

I just has to turn it off - I couldn't take it any more. They just let some agnostic on the air to let loose his anti-religion broadside - he didn't even mention the Columbia until prompted to by the host.

One thing I noticed was more than the usual "Don't post from DU" stuff at the beginning of the thread - have those cretins been celebrating over there, and Freepers have been bringing back their tales of outrage?

[bootless]

Were that the case you would expect someone to call in and claim 'credit' for the work.

Perhaps ... I don't recall any "credit call" after 9-11, though. I do know that al-Qaeda likes the spectacular.

I'm not convinced one way or the other ... just not enough to know yet...

[tomkat]

not only are you a classless dipshit,
but now you're also banned ...

[valleygal]

I noticed that, too. It didn't look deep enough for an actual crater. There are pople and a dog walking near it.

[bootless]

It always bothers me when they prematurely rule things in or out even before they have any information one way or another.

Exactly.