[DoughtyOne]

At a time like this the President needn't do much more than express the feelings that we all share. An expression of a great sense of loss, condolences to the families, coworkers and friends of the lost souls. It doesn't seem right now that the achievements are worth the cost, but we know in time that we will realize that they were. We will press on to achieve the goals they paid the price to reach. And we will know that when we reach that goal, that every person who contributed was willing to pay that cost, realizing the chances they were taking. The emotions run the gamet from sorrow, to pride, to a sense of loss, to a realization that we are never better than when we come together as a nation in trying times. Today we have friends in foreign lands who share our grief. So much the better.

[MadIvan]

I can almost guarantee that one of the first people to call President Bush would have been Prime Minister Blair.

We grieve with you, as your bretheren.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

The explorers who died today are part of history, and they will be remembered as such.

We can't see it now, but the people who died in the Challenger and Columbia will be in schoolbooks in the future. When children learn about the exploration of space, their names will echo those of Magellan and Columbus, who went on their own voyages of discovery. And some of those explorers did not come back either - Magellan was killed in the Phillippines.

In that sense, those who passed from this life today, are immortal. And they are immortal too in God's embrace.

I realise that isn't much comfort to those grieving now, but it is something to keep in mind.

Regards, Ivan