ShareThisThe battle over the fate of the Tomb of the Unknowns is heating up as a decision by the Army approaches about what to do with America's most sacred monument.
The Army says it will make its call in February on whether to repair Arlington National Cemetery's iconic tomb, which has sprouted cracks and other evidence of deterioration, or replace it with a replica.
The service and the cemetery staff have argued in favor of having a new tomb sculpted out of marble cut from the same vein in the same Colorado quarry used to create the current tomb 78 years ago. They argue that repairs, though less expensive now, would be more costly over time. (The Army pegged cosmetic fixes at under $70,000, while a new monument would cost more than $2 million.)
The National Trust for Historic Preservation -- which sounded the alarm about the possible replacement last year and recruited a raft of concerned congressmen to intervene and order the Army to more fully study the options -- says it is worried that Army and cemetery officials are determined to win the fight.
The Air Force reports that its aircraft suffered 4,000 "bird strikes" last year, though -- as with the US Airways jet apparently crippled Jan. 15 by a flock of geese -- no lives were lost. Collectively, according to the Pentagon's American Forces Press Service, the damage amounted to $35 million.
One of the installations with a bird problem is Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, home to the president's plane, Air Force One. Last year, 20 bird strikes occurred at Andrews, which was down from 30 the previous year, the press service reported. Most involved small birds and none caused major damage or an emergency landing.
At Andrews, located in an area frequented by geese, seagulls, blackbirds, starlings, turkey vultures, cowbirds and ducks, a border collie named Bree is one of the counter-bird strategies used to keep the wildlife away. Bree regularly patrols the 4,320-acre base and chases wildlife interlopers away.
Forget wag the dog. Now, it's wagyu Congress.
President Obama stirred up a cyber-storm when word got out about what was on the menu for a White House cocktail party Wednesday at which he lobbied Democratic and GOP congressional leaders for support for his financial stimulus plan, according to a report by ABC News.
One of the featured hors d'oeuvres was wagyu steak -- which also is known as Kobe beef -- a delicacy from Japan that is prized for its tenderness and unsaturated fat.
It also costs a bundle -- as much as $100 a pound for choice cuts. At a time when American families are cutting back on $1.99-a-pound ground beef, wagyu might not have been the best selection.
At least there was no arugula garnish.
With most cameras these days, it's point and shoot. But when the camera is on the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, selecting a subject is a bit trickier. NASA's doing a public poll to let people vote for 1 of 6 possibilities for the observatory to study in depth in early April.
Among the options are far-flung galaxies and dying stars. Vote at: http://YouDecide.Hubblesite.org. A space-shuttle mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble is set for mid-May.
(Scripps Howard News Service correspondent Lee Bowman contributed to this column. E-mail Lisa Hoffman at hoffmanl(at)shns.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
Washington Calling
Replace It
Flaws existed in the original marble that the stresses of temperature change caused to fracture. Replace the whole thing with the understanding that it may have to be done again in another century or so. Even marble isn't forever: look at Rome and the Parthenon.