4
AMERY FREE PRESS
Bringing back Watney
OPINION
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
BY TOM STANGL FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK
I make no bones about the fact that I am a fan of science fiction and space exploration. I watched the moon landings as a child, and firmly believed that one day I would live on the moon. Sadly, none of that has come to pass. After successfully landing and returning seven missions on the moon, the Apollo program was scrapped. Even the mission that didn’t make it, Apollo 13, was a success because it showed the ingenuity and tenacity of the astronauts and engineers who Publisher found a way to bring the crew home alive. Tom Stangl President Nixon, faced with a choice between pushing on to Mars or approving a reusable spacecraft that would be used to assemble a space station, went with the less expensive option, the space shuttle. President George W. Bush proposed a return to the moon with the Orion program, using the moon for launches deeper into the solar system. President Obama nixed the Orion program, which was plagued with cost overruns and delays, and chose to focus to privatizing launches to the International Space Station and building better boosters to reach the asteroid belt and eventually Mars. I bring up all of this history because I recently read the novel, “The Martian” by Andy Weir. Some of you may have seen the movie that is currently playing in theaters starring Matt Damon. I hope to see it soon, but like to read the novels before seeing the movies. It’s my thing. The novel details astronaut Mark Watney’s struggle to survive on the red planet. When a large and powerful dust storm threatens to destroy the crew’s habitat and their return vehicle, the mission is scrubbed and the crew evacuates. During the slog to the spacecraft, Watney is hit by a piece of equipment that breaks loose and blows away in the storm. Even though the rest of his team cannot see him, they can read that his spacesuit shows no life signs and the mission commander makes a gut wrenching decision to leave without recovering his body because she has no other choice. But Watney isn’t dead. Using his engineering skills, a great deal of duct tape and improvised solutions, he finds a way to survive and eventually communicate with NASA. Plans are formulated to get more supplies to Watney so he can survive until the next mission arrives. Being a novel, plenty of complications arise. Watney, a resourceful person, finds a way to get things done with the items he has on hand. But it seems the odds are stacked against him. As I read the novel, I couldn’t help but think of Apollo 13 and actor Ed Harris’ portrayal of Mission Director Gene Kranz. Kranz calmly and effectively navigated through the chaos and found a way to get the crew of Apollo 13 home. I hope “The Martian” helps us as a nation find a way to get our mojo back for manned space exploration. Brilliant people have solved what seemed to be insurmountable odds to do the impossible. We need to aspire to greatness again, even if it means working with the Chinese (something that is done in the novel). As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@theameryfreepress.com, telephone 715-268-8101 or write me at P.O. Box 424, Amery, WI, 54001. Thanks for reading. I’ll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Spurious Charges Against GAB
To the editor: You know, I’ve been thinking – most all of us have probably watched some shows from “Perry Mason” to the “CSI” ones to “Judge Judy” and are sort of familiar with evidence and court cases as such – well, if the Government Accountability Board was brought before a court with the trivial charges that have been lodged against it, the judge would either have thrown the case out of court, or if a jury trial the verdict would be not guilty on all counts. I couldn’t have served on the jury because I would have had to admit that I love GAB (as it is affectionately known). You see, I am a municipal clerk and GAB is our lifeline when it comes to elections and all issues around voter registration, voting, accessibility, etc. GAB has earned our respect and trust by being there whenever we have questions or problems around the topic of elections – if we call there we don’t get an endless set of recordings to listen to and numbers to push; we get a real person and a person who is knowledgeable about our issue.
We clerks get to observe GAB personnel up close and what we see are professionals doing a difficult and complex job extremely well. The changes that have taken place in the last few years - voter registration, electronic voting, new federal regulations – have ushered in a complete new era in election management. The GAB has had to set up processes to deal with all of those changes. And then the huge challenge of the recall elections came along just as the GAB was becoming organized. Do you recall the bitter partisanship surrounding that period – if a panel such as is now proposed consisting of 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats would have had to decide the issues that arose out of that process, it probably would not have happened as we know it did. The members of such a panel most likely would not even have sat together in the same room, let alone dispassionately discuss the issues that had to be decided. Since then, just within a fairly short period of time, the Legislature has legislated something like 31 changes to election law. These
changes involved photo ID, absentee voting hours, signatures in poll books and the like. The GAB has to deal with each and every revision in the statutes and that requires revising election manuals and materials, training clerks and keeping the public informed. The Legislative Audit Bureau, a non-partisan agency, found in its audit of GAB that some things over which it was in charge could be improved. The LAB has found nearly every department/agency that it audits to be deficient in some regards. That is its job, to find where things can be improved. No doubt, there are areas that the GAB oversees that could be improved but to completely dismantle it (I know, “they” say that it is not being dismantled, merely reorganized, but I say it is being dismantled) is just beyond the pale. The GAB has received national recognition and accolades for the job it has done in very difficult circumstances. It should not be destroyed for a return to a system that was proved to be flawed. Karn Moe Chetek WI
Help make sure you get your recipts at gas pumps To the editor: Have you paid at the pump with a credit card, pumped gas and then didn’t receive a receipt? The problem seems to be growing everywhere. Now with winter coming, it will be even more annoying. Recently I talked with both WI and MN officials and they have suggestions that could help us all. With more complaints, they will be able to do something, otherwise they are unaware of how many times consumers pump gas and end up with no receipt. Then people must go inside for it. Suggestions are: Leave your vehicle at the pump,
thus tying up that pump so no one can pump gas while you are inside getting the receipt. This will give the owners/operators incentive to maintain their receipt mechanisms. They’re losing business. Tell the person you’re obtaining your receipt from you don’t appreciate having to come inside for your receipt. Perhaps they will tell the manager and the more complains they hear the better. Next call and report the convenience store/station. For WI call 608-224-4940. For MN call 651-5391555. Information they will want is: the location and name of the sta-
tion, the pump number, the type of gas (regular, mid-grade or premium), the date and time. That’s all there is to it. In MN you can fi le a complaint at http://mn.gov/commerce/ weight-and-measures/consumers/index.isp Put the phone numbers into your cell phone and call whenever you pay at the pump and do not obtain a receipt. Or call when you get home. With your help, something can be done to combat this annoying problem. Thank you for your help. Carolyn Lumsden Dresser, WI