Remembering Frank Borman
Subject: “Frank Borman – Commander of the Apollo 8 flight,” obituary from Metro & Business on Friday.
Frank Borman was truly a hero of the Apollo space program. When testing of the lunar lander in Earth orbit was delayed, NASA reassigned its flight, Apollo 8, to a daunting and very risky mission to lunar orbit.
On December 21, 1968, he, James Lovell and William Anders launched the first manned launch from Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center, the second manned flight of the redesigned Apollo spacecraft, and only the third launch of the powerful Saturn V rocket.
They were the first humans freed from Earth’s gravity, and they successfully orbited the Moon ten times, returning to Earth on December 27th. During the flight, they took photographs and collected celestial navigation information that would be useful for follow-up Apollo flights. In addition, they took the iconic Earthrise photo and performed the inspired Christmas Eve readings from the Book of Genesis.
With the Vietnam War raging, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, and mass riots leading to riots in major cities, 1968 was a tumultuous year. Borman’s escape helped ensure that 1968 ended with a much-needed national triumph.
Edgar J. Manton, Heath
democracies
The Nov. 9 Letters to the Editor included three letters that discussed the things we should vote for and the kinds of fears we should have about former President Donald Trump’s promises of revenge if he is re-elected becomes. All three letters are exactly correct.
As I read it, I remembered something I saw on a post-election newscast on Tuesday. That’s what former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum said, and it’s not the first time I’ve expressed it. Santorum explained that “pure democracies are not the way to govern a country.”
This is perhaps the most insidious thing I have ever heard. It’s a seemingly spontaneous but devastatingly destructive phrase.
I suspect that people who think this way believe in the divine right of kings, a belief that leaders are hand-picked by God to rule. This belief prevailed for a very long time in history.
This is exactly what our founding fathers wrote about and fought against. It was their hope to move history to a time where individual rights prevailed. It was like that, with more and less success.
Weber Baker, Farmers Branch
Listen to each other
Re: “Colleges must not cower to protesters,” by Morgan Marietta, Wednesday statement.
Thank you for printing this essay by Morgan Marietta. Marietta was in the news for a public discussion at UT-Arlington. I am glad that Marietta was given the opportunity to express the issues of free speech.
Several decades ago, I had the privilege of having Allan Saxe as one of my professors at UTA. Over the course of the semester, Saxe became aware several times that he had said something that was important to my fellow students. It would make for a fun, fascinating, informative and in-depth discussion about events and politics.
Towards the end of each class, Saxe laughed and explained to us how important it was to listen and learn from each other, regardless of the topic or views.
A few years ago, Saxe was the keynote speaker at an event I attended where he spoke about the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution. I spoke to him afterwards to thank him for teaching me how to think all those years ago. He quietly told me that our world was changing and that he probably couldn’t teach the same thing today. It saddens me to see that Saxe seems to be right after the events involving Marietta.
Ray Jane’s, Highland Village
Factors in the US economy
It’s time to respond to Joe Biden’s political comments on the economy. Since our country’s founding, our presidents have taken largely undeserved credit and blame for our good and bad economies.
While the president can influence economic policy through various means, including fiscal and regulatory measures, the economy is a complex system influenced by a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of any single person or government.
Several key factors can affect the economy, including global economic trends, technological advances and natural disasters. The U.S. economy is influenced by the actions of the Federal Reserve, Congress, and various other governmental and nongovernmental agencies, as well as the decisions and actions of businesses and consumers.
Economic changes often take time to occur, and it can be difficult to attribute specific economic outcomes solely to the actions of a single president. When assessing the state of the economy, it is important to consider a variety of national and international factors that contribute to its performance.
Jerry Lawson, Allen
Arrogance is not helpful
I recently attended a lecture on human trafficking and it occurred to me that our federal government allows people to cross our border and our state government is smuggling these people into our country. There is very little common sense here, just a lot of political posturing.
While political appearances may be good for campaign contributions, it does not help our nation. Can’t our federal and state governments work together to manage and hopefully resolve this grave crisis that is so detrimental to our national well-being?
Jaime Vela, Denton
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