American Morning
Commentary: Let's aim for Mars
Editor's note: Buzz Aldrin, whose new book is "Magnificent Desolation," was one of the two American astronauts who were the first people to set foot on the moon.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/23/art.buzz.aldrin.moon.jpg caption="Buzz Aldrin walks on the moon in a photo taken by Neil Armstrong, his colleague on the 1969 mission. "]
By Buzz Aldrin
Special to CNN
(CNN) - Four decades have passed since the summer of 1969, when Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and I flew America's first lunar landing mission.
The passage of time has not faded either the memory of that summer or the importance of what we achieved, for our mission was about more than just exploring the moon.
On July 20, 1969, Neil and I were peering out the window of our lunar lander, the Eagle, as it descended toward the lunar surface. The ship's computer was steering us toward a field of boulders the size of cars.
That same computer - with less power than today's pocket calculators - was signaling that it was overworked and dangerously overloaded. Our single tank of fuel was nearly empty as we approached the surface, invisible to us, cloaked in a cloud of swirling dust.
Neil took manual control and flew us toward a smoother terrain. Then, as the shadow of our landing gear appeared etched onto the surface in the gloom, a light on our console flashed that contact had been made.
"Houston, Tranquility Base Here," Neil radioed to the listening world back home. "The Eagle has landed!"
For more than two hours, we explored the moon's dusty surface. We could easily tell that the planet we had landed on was very different from our home. The horizon visibly curved away in the distance, a sign of the moon's much smaller landscape.
What’s on Tap – Wednesday June 24, 2009
Here are the big stories on the agenda today:
- Tough talk coming from the president aimed at Iran. President Obama says the U.S. and the world are “appalled and outraged” by Iran’s bloody crackdown. The situation on the ground is tense. Residents are afraid to communicate by phone and internet coverage is spotty. But we could see more protests today.
- The mystery of South Carolina’s missing governor is growing, this morning. CNN tracked down a state SUV we believe governor Mark Sanford was using at the airport in Columbia, South Carolina. But we're also getting reports another state vehicle tied to Sanford is at the airport… in Atlanta.
- Plus – are your kids going to need federal loans for college? Well, the mountain of paperwork to apply is about to get a lot smaller. Right now you need a degree, maybe a few, just to get through the paperwork. The department of education is set to unveil a new and much shorter form, later today. The fixes include dropping obscure questions, or just making the mind-numbing language easier to understand.
- Burned out. People across the nation facing car payments they cannot make are deciding to torch, ditch and bury their vehicles – and claim they were stolen, to collect the insurance money. Authorities have not been fooled and arresting these people in record numbers, many who have never committed a crime before.
We Listen! Your comments – 6/23/09
Editor's Note: American Morning’s Tuesday audience remained committed to President Obama’s position on Iran, with many noting that the GOP was the only faction complaining about his response. Some were very disappointed to see the son of the former Shah of Iran, believing that his father’s dictatorship was the reason the current regime existed.
- Jonathan: When you speculate how Iranians will carry on under the cloud of an illegitimate election, you only have to look at the United States in 2000 when many of us felt the Bush administration was illegitimate. Life went on, but we were eventually victorious in 2008. Truth will eventually win out in Iran. It will happen sooner without U.S. intervention.
- Michael: I cannot believe you are giving lots of publicity to the son of the deposed Shah of Iran. Do you WANT the Iranian regime to stay in power? No one within Iran supports a return to the brutal monarchy of the Shah. The reason Iran has this horrible regime is because the people of Iran revolted against the Shah. The Shah was put in power by the US during the 1953 coup - by giving publicity to the Shah's son, you are SUPPORTING the current regime's claim that the US is meddling in Iran's internal affairs. If you "cover" his attempt to inject himself into the current Iranian political mix, you must emphasize that his father's regime is the REASON the current regime exists and that the regime is sure to seize upon his intervention as further proof that the US wants to re-establish the Shah's dictatorship.
- Dan: The only criticism of Obama's position on the Iran situation has come from McCain and a few other lunatic neo-cons. Yet, CNN consistently makes it sound as if half the country is questioning that position. EVERY expert on Iran, and EVERY credible diplomat has praised the president's stance. When will CNN catch up to the idea that the foreign policy based on belligerence and stupidity of the last administration was a complete disaster? Maybe McCain and Graham can't understand it, but CNN should be able to figure it out.
Many believe that President Obama’s approach to Iran has been appropriate. How do you feel about the GOP’s response? What did you think of the former Shah of Iran’s son speaking out today?
Boss watching you online?
The city of Bozeman, Montana was asking people applying for city jobs to hand over their passwords to social networking sites – like Facebook and Twitter.
After the story spread online – the city backed down but the question remains: just how much privacy can you really expect online?
CNN's Alina Cho has an update on the story she first told us about a few months ago that involved two workers who got fired for what they said on Myspace.
Fmr. prince: Security forces join protesters in the streets
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/23/intv.pahlavi.cnn.art.jpg caption="Former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi tells CNN there are reports some security forces have been joining protesters in the streets of Tehran."]
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in for a second term sometime between July 26 and August 19, state-run media reported Tuesday. Many Iranians who have disputed the official outcome of the June 12 vote have taken to the streets to protest the results.
Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince of Iran, says there are reports some security forces have been joining protesters in the streets of Tehran. Pahlavi’s father was the shah of Iran who was deposed in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. He spoke to John Roberts on CNN’s “American Morning” Tuesday.
John Roberts: The Guardian Council has ruled that the election results will stand and if there were irregularities they are not enough to swing the outcome of the election. There will be no new elections. What do you expect the reaction on the ground will be?
Reza Pahlavi: As we have all monitored the evolution of the situation, the supreme leader who has always been the final decider has drawn pretty much the line in the sand last Friday. And as such, I think the campaign that we have seen is now moving towards the direction of defiance and is going to be a resistance that will have to be sustained if indeed there's any hope for democracy in my homeland one day.
Roberts: There's debate as well over how much support the United States should give the protesters and the reform movement there in Iran. The White House is worried that coming out too strong in support could do more harm than good. What do you think?
Pahlavi: Well John, this is beyond a camp or another. This is not a question of election results anymore. This has become a defiance against a regime that has denied every right to its citizenry. When the chants on the streets in Tehran and other major cities in Iran and across the country are turning to “Death to Khamenei,” I don't think it could get as clear as that back home. The regime is now under question. The legitimacy is lost. The legitimacy now stands with the people. But there are also matters of ethics and moral responsibility, if I may say also. Something that the regime is trying to create [is] confusion between what could be considered as interference as opposed to standing for human rights and justice.
Gibbs defends Obama's stance on Iran
The president's response to Iran and his fight for health care reform... Two topics that will be front-and-center today at President Obama's first Rose Garden news conference.
Kiran Chetry got a sneak-preview from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on CNN's "American Morning."
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