Another midsummer week can only mean two things: more blistering heat and more crazy news stories involving comedians, beauty queens and even the president. I think the heat is to blame for the increase in ludicrous news.
On Monday, for example, Comedian Whoopi Goldberg, one of five yentas on the talk show “The View,” entertained notions that the moon landing was a fake. “There are a couple questions that I do have from time to time,” Goldberg said. “Who shot the footage? Why is the flag rippling, there’s no air? Is it always in a ripple? Was it starched in a ripple?”
Oh Whoopi, is this really what it has come to — questioning the moon landing? First of all, what difference does it really make who shot the footage? Obviously, either one of the astronauts shot the footage or they propped up the camera. This question isn’t even worthy of debate.
The real question that many people have was Goldberg’s follow-up regarding the presence of a ripple in the flag when there is no air on the moon. This is such a common misconception that only a little research reveals the true answer.
According to Wikipedia, “The flag’s rippled appearance was from folding during storage and it could be mistaken for motion in a still photograph. The top support rod telescoped and the crew of Apollo 11 could not fully extend it.”
For those who don’t believe Wikipedia, all one must do is simply watch the video of the moon footage to see that the flag does not move, except when one of the astronauts touches it. It’s clear that Whoopi, along with a lot of conspiracy nuts, didn’t do the homework.
Another story that had me scratching my head this week was the announcement of former Miss California Carrie Prejean’s “tell-all” book. Why, oh why, is a book necessary on this subject? Is this at all relevant to, well, anything?
According to multiple news sources, the book “Still Standing” promises to answer such hot questions as why she answered the Perez Hilton question as she did, and how she has been forced to battle the left’s double-standard on free speech and the bias against conservatives — particularly conservative women — who stand up for their beliefs.”
Isn’t the answer to these questions obvious? She answered Hilton’s question the way she did because she simply does not agree with gays. Can she really offer any more revelation into this subject?
We get it — you don’t believe in gay marriage. Furthermore, regarding Prejean’s “battle” with the left’s double-standard machine, get used to it. You said something controversial and you received the fallout.
Comments on hot-button issues from vapid beauty queens at the most awkward of times — during a beauty pageant — will always get extensive news coverage because it is funny, stupid and ridiculous. But I still ask, “Is a full-length book on this topic really going to clear up unanswered questions?” I think not.
Now comes perhaps the most stupid news item of the week: the claim of an eBay seller — who has now mysteriously vanished — to have President Barack Obama’s birth certificate claiming he was born in Mombasa, Kenya.
First people were claiming he was a Muslim, now he’s a Kenyan. Tomorrow he will be an alien from a distant planet. Give it up, folks. The guy was born in Hawaii, which may seem like a distant planet to some, but is actually a short jump across the Pacific Ocean.
Can we stop with all the speculation about Obama’s “questionable” past and accept that he is our president? Sometimes it seems as if the world really is going mad.
Gerry Wachovsky is a graduate student and a columnist for the Summer Forty-Niner.