Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
progressoid
progressoid's Journal
progressoid's Journal
April 12, 2023
https://twitter.com/aussiastronomer/status/1644080271225147392
New NASA Director Swears Oath on Carl Sagan Book Instead of Bible
Dr. Makenzie Lystrup getting sworn in as Director of @NASAGoddard
Space Flight Center using Carl Sagan's 'Pale Blue Dot' is just everything. 😍
Space Flight Center using Carl Sagan's 'Pale Blue Dot' is just everything. 😍
https://twitter.com/aussiastronomer/status/1644080271225147392
...
While Lystrup's choice of oath-taking literature is "unusual," it's definitely allowed by law thanks to our good ole' separation of church and state, and there's a long tradition of political statement-making via swearing in books.
From Dr. Suess to a Superman comic and any number of non-Christian religious texts, American political figures have for centuries been putting their beliefs on display by being sworn into office on books other than the Bible.
That said, this appears to be the first time someone's been sworn in on a Sagan book, and we're with Cowing when it comes to admiring Lystrup's oath book which NASA, interestingly enough, chose not to mention in its own blog post.
"Why do I suddenly get the urge to apply for a job over in Maryland at Goddard?" quipped Cowing, himself a former NASA employee. "Anyone who does this has to be cool to work for."
https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-director-sagan-swearing-in
While Lystrup's choice of oath-taking literature is "unusual," it's definitely allowed by law thanks to our good ole' separation of church and state, and there's a long tradition of political statement-making via swearing in books.
From Dr. Suess to a Superman comic and any number of non-Christian religious texts, American political figures have for centuries been putting their beliefs on display by being sworn into office on books other than the Bible.
That said, this appears to be the first time someone's been sworn in on a Sagan book, and we're with Cowing when it comes to admiring Lystrup's oath book which NASA, interestingly enough, chose not to mention in its own blog post.
"Why do I suddenly get the urge to apply for a job over in Maryland at Goddard?" quipped Cowing, himself a former NASA employee. "Anyone who does this has to be cool to work for."
https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-director-sagan-swearing-in
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayMember since: Wed Nov 10, 2004, 06:28 PM
Number of posts: 49,988