The news these days is very weird, what with our nebulous war against the al Queda, spontaneous outbreaks of anthrax in New Jersey... and, of all places, Chile, and with Russia poised to obtain a veto in NATO operations.

But, what I find most interesting of all -- at this moment, anyway -- is a little ditty I saw on my instant messenger ticker about China's space program. The news reports say that China plans to put a man on the moon by the year 2005.

I firmly believe that we need to have a strong, productive space program. I very much believe that as a race, we can not afford *not* to spread our wings and start exploring our solar system and the stars beyond.

Perhaps with China getting into the fray in this fashion, Americans and others might once again look to our future beyond this planet and get excited again about the possibilities. Perhaps we will see renewed support for a robust space program.

I'm also particularly intrigued to see how well the Chinese are able to execute on their plans. China may yet become a player with the rest of the grown-ups at the table. Very interesting, indeed.