Wesley Clark is not impressed with the laws of physics.
"I still believe in e=mc˛, but I can't believe that in all of human history, we'll never ever be able to go beyond the speed of light to reach where we want to go," said Clark. "I happen to believe that mankind can do it."
"I've argued with physicists about it, I've argued with best friends about it. I just have to believe it. It's my only faith-based initiative." Clark's comment prompted laughter and applause from the gathering.
Gary Melnick, a senior astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said Clark's faith in the possibility of time travel was "probably based more on his imagination than on physics.
While Clark's belief may stem from his knowledge of sophisticated military projects, there's no evidence to suggest that humans can exceed the speed of light, said Melnick. In fact, considerable evidence posits that time travel is impossible, he said."
Both this article and the blogfather believe that the General is referring to the possibility of time travel. But based upon how his remarks are connected with NASA and the space program, I happen to believe that Clark is referring to the possibility of Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel...in other words, Star Trek's Warp Drive. And E=mc^2 (Einstein's famous formula explaining how mass and energy are both governed by the speed of light) also says, at least now, anyway, that FTL is as equally impossible, if not more so, than time travel.
But this gets me thinking... Which Star Trek character most resembles each presidential candidate? (Drawing on the original series, Next Generation, and Deep Space 9 only. Voyager was a piece of crap.)
Clark - Captain Picard (TNG) - Very distinguished service record, and extremely politically savy, but his beliefs in multilateralism and diplomacy sometimes turn simple situations needlessly complex.
Dean - Dr. McCoy (TOS) - Says what he thinks, but gets more than a little befuddled sometimes.
Kerry - Commander Sisko (DS9) - Constant air of righteous indignation. Little else besides.
Lieberman - Mr. Spock (TOS) - Very dry and humorless, but the only one of the group who thinks straight 99% of the time.
Gephardt - Scotty (TOS) - A problem solver, and damn good at what he does, but a little too eager to go along, especially with ideas he knows are impossible, as well as a little too over the hill to make a real leader.
Edwards - Quark (DS9) - Like your typical Ferengi, always making himself out to be everyone's friend, but in reality, comes off as a glad-handling shill.
Graham - Data (TNG) - Absolute command of information, but very dull personally, with a very forced sense of humor, and with a penchant for logging every minute detail of his life.
Kucinich - Counselor Troi (TNG) - Empathetic? Try simply pathetic. Peave-loving and tolerant to a fault, and never gets angry at the right things.
Sharpton - Worf (TNG) - Got a chip on his shoulder the size of a small moon, and is not afraid to let everyone within earshot hear it. (I would pay money to see him and Jesse Jackson go one-on-one with Bat'leths.)
Mosley-Braun - Lt. Uhuru (TOS) - She's the only skirt in the room, but aside from that, not much else to offer.
Hate mail from Trekkies AND Democrats...ooh...I can't wait!
Posted by Thief at September 30, 2003 02:53 PM