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Show Thundaf. September 9, 2004 AS Ebtiwial EDITORIAL BOARD Alwt'X Manzi, President It Publisher Randy Wright, Executive Editor Donald W. Meyers, Editorial page editor John Castelli, Public adviser Christian Harrison, Public adviser Sam Rushforth, Public adviser IN OUR VIEW Genesis project good despite crash Genesis mission came The a disappointing end in West Desert on A helicopter crew poised to retrieve the Genesis capsule as it returned to earth, snagging its parachute before it reached the ground and deliver it to scientists at Dugway Proving Grounds. Unfortunately, the parachute never deployed, and the probe crashed into the desert floor, possibly destroying priceless scientific data. The probe, launched three years ago, returned to earth with solar wind particles gathered in outer space. The particles, the size of a few grains of sand, would have given scientists a better understanding of how the solar system came to be. Genesis also was the first time samples were to be brought back from space since the last Apollo mission to the moon, and the first samples to be brought back from a place farther away than the mopa . We hope scientists will be able to salvage some of the samples from the wreckage. There will surely be people who will think this project was a waste of money and time that could have been put to better use solving problems on earth, and Wednesday's failure will give them some validation. But let's look closer. NASA is not one of the pigs at Congress' budget trough. If anything, it's living on the table scraps. The Genesis mission cost $264 million, about 2 percent of NASA's $15.47 billion budget, which in turn is 1 percent of the federal budget. By comparison, we're spending more than $150 billion in Iraq, and $400 billion on a Medicare drug program. But there are real returns on this investment. First, exploring the solar system and learning what it's made of and how it works helps us to under ; stand what's happening on Earth. For instance, did Earth just get lucky to have enough oxygen to support life, or was there enough , oxygen in that primordial soup for all the planets, but did the others . lose it because of some cataclysm? If so, we may learn whether it can happen here and perhaps do something to stop it. The exploration of Venus and Mars has given us a better understanding of geology, seismology and global warming. Studying the sun helps scientists predict when a solar flare is headed toward Earth so we can protect our communications systems from disruption, a problem that's been with us ever since Samuel Morse invented the telegraph. While NASA has created the mystique that "failure is not an option," the American space program has had its share of missteps. Our first efforts to launch a satellite, Vanguard, ended in a launchpad explosion. But even failures push knowledge forward, and the Genesis probe may yet be capable of providing useful data. Space exploration means more jobs for Americans. Every dollar spent on the space program returns $7 in corporate and personal income taxes from those working in related industries, such as ThiokoL which constructs rocket engines, including the boosters that hurlthe space shuttle into orbit, in Box Elder County. And other space projects that people thought were a waste of time and money have made our lives better in practical ways. . Scratch-resistaeyeglasses, smoke detectors, ultrasound scanners, insulin pumps, Doppler weather radar and invisible braces are just a few of the technological spin-ofof the space program. Our congratulations to NASA and the pilots who recovered Genesis on a mission somewhat frac-- . tured at the end but accomplished overall solid-rock- fs More Muslims should condemn terrorism last week the booms of explosives signaled the of innocents in Beslan, Russia. On Monday a different sound broke the rural silence: the loud thuds of coffin lids slamming shut. Some families brought their children to a local graveyard in open caskets, taking last looks before the young were lowered into holes. Elsewhere, the weekend brought harsh verdicts on the Beslan terrorists from several unlikely sources: influential Muslims fearful that terJ rorism is damaging the image of Islam. Under the scorching tf exaggerated headline, The Painful Truth: All the World Terrorists are Muslims,'' columnist Abdulrahman general manager of television, wrote in the b newspaper AsharqAl-Awsa- t: "Most perpetrators of suicide operations in buses, schools and residential buildings around the world for the past 10 years have been Muslims." Citing terrorist acts in Russia, Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, he said Muslims cannot cleanse their image unless "we admit the scandalous facts. ... The picture is humiliating, painful and harsh for all of us." Islamist columnist Ahmed Bah-ga- t, a leading writing in Egyptian newspaper, said the ages of bloodied Russian victims "showed Muslims as monsters who are fed by the blood of children and the pain of their families." And Late pan-Ara- the Middle East News Agency quoted Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, Egypt's top Muslim cleric, as rhetorically asking, "What is the guilt of those children?" As if excoriating the terrorists, he added "You are taking Islam as a cover and it is a deceptive cover. Those who carry out the kidnappings are criminals, not Muslims." The bold statements were remarkable in part because it's not yet certain who, and with what motive, carried out the butchery of mtmomezm 19 MY ONE SHOT I 1 Media outlets on both coasts have recently issued dire warnings of the spread of AIDS from Africa where it has killed millions to Chind and neighboring countries. It is surprising that amid the expressed concern for what could be the most genocide in history, the mainstream press makes no mention of the success of Uganda in curbing the spread of AIDS and the means by which that success was accomplished Uganda's success in lowering the infections rate in pregnant women from 20 percent to 6 percent has been known in scientific studies since 1998 but one never hears any reference to those facts in the press. It is an unfortunate fact that Liberalism has become America's state religion in that it would define acceptable speech, civility, constitutional interpretation and sexual behavior. A conflict rises between liberalism's latest mission defining all sexual indulgence as being acceptable and the Ugandan success story. Uganda's president has forcefully told his people, "We must return to our old values, or die as a nation." The choice is stark but undeniable: We may cling to the new morality of liberalism or face the reality of the inevitable. sub-Sahar- - Frank Gardiner, Provo But with terrorism already close- infighting Russia's government cluding, evidently, the recent downings of two Russian aircraft by Chechen suicide bombers many important voices in Islamic lands weren't waiting for the niceties of official investigations and reports. "The Chechens, with the choice of their targets, had put themselves in a position where no one would shed tears when the punishment came," said an editorial in Saudi Arabia's Arab News. "They reached a new low when they chose toddlers as bargaining chips."... More Islamic voices need to awaken to and condemn terrorism. Until then, peaceful Muslims will unfairly shoulder blame and, at times, worse. The more than 100 Beslan victims interred Monday included both Christians so many that not and Muslims enough priests and imams were on hand to oversee the burials. Road's character destroyed by developments . This letter is addressed officials. w m m only lived here for 12 years, but immedi- ate upon arrival felt a strong urge to preserve the integrity of this "rural" road as I'm certain others longer established have for many, many years. I pray the Orem side of Carterville will retain its identity and that our city officials will value and respect the distinctive nature of what we call our home. to Provo city Bonnie Gardner, Carterville Road, Orem Thank you for destroying the charac- ter of Carterville Road First by allowing that hideous development, And now by putting in curb, gutter and sidewalk. What was once a quaint little country road in the middle of the city is becoming more a duplicate of every other neighborhood street in the area. There are few areas left in the ProvoOrem region that still retain that unique atmosphere of former days. Is it in the name of safety, for the sake of revenue, or some other unknown reason that local governments feel they have to "improve" and evolve beyond existing conditions? I am a relative newcomer to the ' Carterville Road community, having Construction disrupts start of school After having resided in Provo for a number of decades, I wonder if our city fathers, or mothers as the case may be, would be interested in changing the tradition of commencing major street construction the week BYU students return, even the week our children commence schooL time-honor- Do&mAPP&aATB vmnmmANP honor mean PfeKfTHtNGTO RAQ I I w"' ,myZ.TJ JVsreerl-iSSa ' 1 en,f? BTSAJ r kcjxwcto m j m mm 344-298- Mail to 5 P.O. Box 717, Provo, UT 84603. must include the author's full name, address and daytime phone number. I We prefer shorter letters, 100 and 200 words. Letters may be edited for length. Writers are encouraged to include their occupation and other personal information. I Because of the volume of letters, we cannot acknowledge unpublished letters. I Letters become the property of the Daily Herald. I Letters mem n summit 'ft'. Fax to Vfyou 1 "N ' letters to dhlettersheraldextra.com Bruce Tinsley WtUANn a i ii How to comment Brent D. Young, Provo MALLARD FILLMORE II ft "No ... I won't disconnect the refrigerator and grandfather's oxygen machine so you can play video games." Garry Trudeau chances um Im hisusual ojour-I Lif AL NSNSmVfTYfj mufesswwmr new morality ly associated with Chechen rebels Wmuhbspoh, I I Liberalism defining Beslan. D00NESBURY MeoEsmpuKs LETTERS nt MEDIA VOICES From the Chicago Tribune Sept. 7,2004 THE PACE OF y--w |