And now it would seem "the heavens" = war, or as Steve Hadley of the National Security Council says, "Space is going to be important. It has a great feature in the military."

Not hard to predict that the final frontier's great feature will be massive military contracts defining "R&D opportunities" in aerospace boondoggles like Star Wars, and defense contractors such as Boeing making out like bandits.

That is when Boeing can take time from its current busy schedule of producing satellite-guided "smart" bombs to be used in air strikes on Iraq.

But just hold on a second - who says the Navy owns the oceans? Should the military control space? Is a kangaroo court all that really stands between my country and all-out war? If communication falls under the defense domain, does that make ordinary citizens who want some answers the enemy?

I don't remember voting for these changes.

While I'm grateful to those who choose to serve in the military, that doesn't mean I signed up for boot camp myself. The quiet yet omnipresent hand over of our lives and liberties to a war-based mindset destabilizes our communities and drains our resources.

Uncle Sam may want me, but I want my oceans, my sky and my voice back.

Heather Wokusch

http://www.heatherwokusch.com