July 2004 Archives

By Vincent Safuto staff writer

July 24, 2004

One thing you notice at some airports today are the people in military uniforms. They're not guarding the place, but traveling home or back to their bases.

Some also are coming from or going back to Iraq, and I have to admit that seeing a group of men and women in uniform at an airport recently made me feel so proud of those who are doing their duty and risking their lives for America. They deserve our appreciation and respect.

On a recent flight I took, there were several men and women from the armed forces on our plane, and the pilot ended the usual inflight announcement with a few words for them.

"There are some of our fine men and women in uniform on our plane today," the pilot said, "and they're home from Iraq for a well-earned rest. Let's thank them for their service. You (meaning the troops) honor us with your presence."

Then all of us passengers gave them a long round of applause.

I know how it feels to travel in uniform, and was glad to be a part of that group of Americans letting the troops know that we appreciate them and support them.

During my time in the service, I never had any "negative" encounters at airports, though the religious groups that tended to hang out at terminals nagged anyone in uniform passing through. In the barracks, we'd share tales of strange people trying to sell us books or convert us — or both.

These folks trying to change our views were well-intentioned, but after reading an article recently in The New York Times, I have to admit that there are some people whose version of honoring the troops is geared more toward taking their money.

The ones described in the article are the sellers of dubious financial planning and insurance services, and some even operate — in violation of Pentagon rules — on the bases and in the barracks, and use their former military status to gain credibility with naive and inexperienced troops. Agents conduct ostensible "financial planning sessions" for financially inexperienced men and women, even in basic training.

This is beyond disgusting. True, scams directed at members of the military probably have existed since time immemorial, but that's no excuse for what has been going on.

Some retired officers, including a retired Marine Corps general who made a big deal of his criticism of the current administration, were named in the article as being part of the effort.

The people involved wave the flag and babble about helping the troops, but their motives are more mercenary.

The worst aspect of all is that some of the services sold to the troops actually are available to them through the government at a much lower price and with better benefits.

Every society has its bottom-feeders, and those who are ripping off our men and women in uniform are — in my view — the lowest of the low.

Vincent F. Safuto is a copy editor for the Press Journal. Reach him at ( Vincent.Safuto@scripps.com).

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By Vincent Safuto staff writer

July 10, 2004

The little hunk of metal and wire had traveled a long way from its home, the little blue world, third from the sun, to its destination.

Arrival wouldn't be the end of the voyage but just the beginning. Seven years earlier, it had left home and at the time may have thought it was coming back home, but after some cosmic billiards in the inner solar system, it got a boost into the far reaches of the yellow star's realm.

It passed the giant planet, the one that almost became a star, and its brood of fascinating moons. But it was only passing through, taking another gravity ride to its real destination: the planet with the rings.

This time, it's not there to have an all-too-brief encounter, as its predecessors, the Pioneer and Voyager probes, had on their way to somewhere else. It's there to stay. To enter orbit, like the Galileo probe around Jupiter, and to beam back to those beings on the third planet the wonders of another world and its moons, and its awesome, phenomenal, beautiful system of rings.

The craft turned around to pass through the ring plane, burned a motor for 96 minutes to hit the brakes and became a satellite of the ringed planet. "Welcome to Saturn orbit," a NASA-TV commentator said.

I've been glued to the coverage of the Cassini-Huygens probe, and marvel at the pictures sent back from the far reaches of the solar system. At a time when turmoil seems to be the normal state of being here on Earth, out there, in the cosmos, are wonders to gladden the heart, lift the soul and maybe understand more of this universe we live in — and ourselves.

Saturn is one of what I call an "ooh, ahh" planet. Set up a telescope, point it at Saturn, turn on the clock drive and invite people to look, and no matter the age, the looker suddenly is awed. Yes, the planet has rings, just like in the pictures.

Quite often, you can even see Cassini's division, the gap in the rings.

Children, who are natural astronomers, can't get enough of that planet. "What are they?" children ask about the rings. And they're stunned to hear an adult admit, "We're just beginning to find out."

Cassini will help answer that question and countless others, and rewrite the book on the ringed planet.

There are those who advocate closing our minds to the wonders of the universe. The money spent is better used by giving it to the rich, or the poor, or the military, they argue, rather than going to some far-off giant planet to find out what it's made of.

Saturn and its moons don't have any oil, and there are no inhabitants to exploit or convert to our religions, but there's something out there that's been calling us since ancient humans first gazed skyward, and wondered about those lights in the sky, some dim, some bright, and the ones that moved.

To paraphrase "Star Trek," the adventure is just beginning.

Vincent F. Safuto is a copy editor for the Press Journal. Reach him at ( Vincent.Safuto@scripps.com).


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