Crazy: About that Overhead Projector

In last night's debate, McSame made not one but two references to an earmark (why he keeps pounding on earmarks which are miniscule relative to the total budget is beyond me) for an "overhead projector" that Obama supported. My reaction was that it was an odd thing to pick on but it did pique by curiosity.

As I suspected, it's not this kind of overhead projector...

It's this kind of overhead projector...


It is a Zeiss, one of the most sophisticated planetarium projectors in the world.

I realize that reasonable people can disagree on the "rightness" or "wrongness" of earmarks but for McCain to pick on an earmark that at its core is educational and has served to inspire ten of thousands of children (and probably a lot of adults as well) to pursue a career in science is...well, bizarre. McCain's statement simply paints him as being anti-education and anti-science.

I've given up on trying to figure out McCain and have come to the conclusion that he's just an angry old coot who believes he is entitled to the Presidency and will do and say anything, even if it makes no sense, contradicts his prior statements, or is just plain sleazy so long as he believes it may help him obtain his Presidential entitlement.

P.S. On a personal note, not too long ago I had the pleasure of visiting a planeterium that has a Zeiss, the Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland, USA. Maybe it had something to do with my childhood dream of being an astronaut but I thought the experience was simply amazing. It felt as though I was disembodied and flying through space. If you ever have a chance to visit a planetarium with a Zeiss...do it...you won't regret it!

Here is a list of the planetariums in North America with a Zeiss:

Angell Hall Planetarium, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
Atlanta Fernbank Science Center, USA
Atlanta Emory University, USA
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, Chicago, USA
Buehler Planetarium, Fort Lauderdale, USA
R. H. Johnson Planetarium, Lakewood CO, USA
Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, USA
Planétarium de Montréal, Canada
New York Hayden Planetarium, USA
Planetario "Lic. Felipe Rivera", Morelia, Mexico
Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland, USA
Paterson PANTHER Academy, Paterson NJ, USA
Lakeview Museum, Peoria IL, USA
Cormack Planetarium, Providence RI, USA
Albert Einstein Planetarium, Washington, DC, USA