We are on a pogo stick. We are told there is water on Mars and it can be seen in canyons, where water flowed recently, to cut new channels in the Martian soil. Then we are told this is a mistake. Now we are told there is a lot of water in the form of ice right below the martian soil. Shesh! Make up your mind, NASA!

TScientists stunned by massive Mars discovery

Not only did Mars once have water covering much of its surface eons ago, it is still there, trapped in the form of ice underneath the Martian soil. That is the conclusion of a new study that indicates there may be layers of ice 300 feet thick in some place at areas of the Red Planet known as "scarps," which are steep banks or slopes.

From article, (Not only did Mars once have water covering much of its surface eons ago, it is still there, trapped in the form of ice underneath the Martian soil. That is the conclusion of a new study that indicates there may be layers of ice 300 feet thick in some place at areas of the Red Planet known as “scarps,” which are steep banks or slopes.

These scarps have a blue-black hue, which scientists think may betray the presence of thick ice based on an aexamination of the data. It would be a tremendous find, as it would not only expand our understanding of Mars, but also provide new leads in the search for life and provide a potentially necessary resource for a manned mission to the planet.

Scientists examined a total of eight of these scarps. Scientists have long known that there is water somewhere on the planet, but have come up with numerous theories on where it all went.

A statement from the American Association for the Advancement of Science follows below.

 Erosion on Mars is exposing deposits of water ice, starting at depths as shallow as one to two meters below the surface and extending 100 meters or more. The ice is a critical target for science and exploration: it affects modern geomorphology, is expected to preserve a record of climate history, influences the planet’s habitability, and may be a potential resource for future exploration. Whilst water ice is known to be present in some locations on Mars, many questions remain about its layering, thickness, purity, and extent. Now, Colin Dundas and colleagues have pinpointed eight locations, using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), where steep, pole-facing slopes created by erosion expose substantial quantities of sub-surface ice. The fractures and steep angles indicate that the ice is cohesive and strong, the authors say. What’s more, bands and variations in color suggest that the ice contains distinct layers, which could be used to understand changes in Mars’ climate over time (the ice sheets themselves likely formed as snow accumulated over time).

Since there are few craters on the surface at these sites, the authors propose that the ice was formed relatively recently. Images taken over the course of three Martian years reveal massive chunks of rock that fell from the ice as erosion occurred, leading the researchers to estimate that the ice is retreating a few millimeters each summer. Because the ice is only visible where surface soil has been removed, Dundas et al. say it is likely that ice near the surface is even more extensive than detected in this study. The ice could be a useful source of water for future missions to Mars.)

For More Info

  

What a Self-driving car, Level 5, Looks Like.

GM plans to release cars with no steering wheel in 2019

As you can see above, Cruise AV is much different from the self-driving Chevy Bolts GM is testing in California. It has no controls whatsoever, not even buttons you can push -- it 100 percent treats you as a passenger, no matter where you sit.

 From article, (If the Department of Transportation grants GM's latest Safety Petition, the automaker will be able to deploy its no-steering-wheel, pedal-less autonomous car next year. GM has not only revealed what its Level 4 self-driving vehicle will look like -- in a video you can watch after the break -- but also announced that it filed a Safety Petition to be able to deploy its completely driverless version of Chevy Bolt called Cruise AV in 2019. The company describes it as "the first production-ready vehicle built from the start to operate safely on its own, with no driver, steering wheel, pedals or manual controls."

Chevy Bolts GM is testing in California. It has no controls whatsoever, not even buttons you can push -- it 100 percent treats you as a passenger, no matter where you sit. The car can even open and shut doors on its own. Now, autonomous cars like this don't meet the Federal Motor Vehicle's safety standards. Automakers could apply for exemption, but the government can only exempt 2,500 vehicles every year. GM President Dan Ammann told The Verge that the company is not seeking for an exemption, though -- instead, it wants to "meet that standard in a different kind of way."

He explained:
"What we can do is put the equivalent of the passenger side airbag on that side as well. So its to meet the standards but meet them in a way that's different than what's exactly prescribed, and that's what the petition seeks to get approval for."

A number of automakers and transportation companies banded together last year to call for a change to those rules. "Without changes to these regulations," GM VP Michael Abelson told a subcommittee that time, "it may be years before the promise of today's technology can be realized and thousands of preventable deaths... will happen.")

For More Info

Government of the People, by the People, and for the People, shall not perish from the Earth. (Good words, by a Good man. I wish I could say his words are still true.)

2-1948 3c ABRAHAM LINCOLN GETTYSBURG ADDRESS 3 CENT ... | Tophatter

U.S. #978 was issued on the 85th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Considered one of the greatest speeches in U.S. history, it is more remarkable compared to the events of the day. In 1863, local Gettysburg attorney David Willis was the driving force behind establishing a nationally funded cemetery to bury the soldiers who died in the battle.

 From Wikipedia, Gettysburg Address, (Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.)

For More on Lincol Gettyburg Address Stamp

For More on Linclon

FDR 1946 Stamp. (At least back then they actually believed in their ideals.)

FRANKLIN DELANOR ROOSEVELT FDR 1946 MEMORIAL STAMP | Tophatter

U.S. #933 was issued as part of a series of four memorial stamps issued just a few months after President Franklin Roosevelt's unexpected death in April 1945. This stamp commemorates President Roosevelt's Four Freedoms speech that he delivered to Congress on January 6, 1941.

 From Wikipedia, (Franklin Delano Roosevelt (/ˈroʊzəvəlt/;^[2] January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), commonly known as FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. A Democrat, he won a record four presidential elections and emerged as a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century. Roosevelt directed the United States government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. As a dominant leader of his party, he built the New Deal Coalition, realigning American politics into the Fifth Party System and defining American liberalism throughout the middle third of the 20th century. His third and fourth terms were dominated by World War II. He is often rated by scholars as one of the three greatest U.S. Presidents, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.^[3]

Roosevelt was born in 1882 to a prominent Dutch-American New York family and attended Groton School. He went on to graduate from Harvard College in 1903 and attended Columbia Law School before practicing law in New York City. In 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt, and the couple went on to have six children. He won election to the New York State Senate in 1910, and then served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. Roosevelt was James M. Cox's running mate on the Democratic Party's 1920 national ticket, but Cox was defeated by Warren G. Harding. In 1921, Roosevelt contracted a paralytic illness, which left his legs permanently paralyzed. He attempted to recover from the illness and founded the treatment center in Warm Springs, Georgia, for people with poliomyelitis. Roosevelt returned to public office by winning election as Governor of New York in 1928. He was in office from 1929 to 1933 and served as a reform governor, promoting programs to combat the economic crisis besetting the United States at the time.

In the 1932 presidential election, Roosevelt defeated Republican President Herbert Hoover in a landslide. Roosevelt took office while the United States was in the midst of the worst economic crisis in its history. During the first 100 days of the 73rd United States Congress, Roosevelt spearheaded unprecedented federal legislation and issued a profusion of executive orders that instituted the New Deal—a variety of programs designed to produce relief, recovery, and reform. He created numerous programs to provide relief to the unemployed and farmers while seeking economic recovery with the National Recovery Administration and other programs. He also instituted major regulatory reforms related to finance, communications, and labor, and presided over the end of Prohibition. The economy improved rapidly from 1933–1937 and Roosevelt won a landslide re-election in 1936, but the economy relapsed into a deep recession in 1937–1938. After the 1936 election, Roosevelt galvanized opposition by seeking passage of the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937, which would have expanded the size of the Supreme Court of the United States. The bipartisan Conservative Coalition that formed in 1937 prevented passage of that bill and blocked the implementation of further New Deal programs and reforms. Major surviving programs and legislation implemented under Roosevelt include the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Labor Relations Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Social Security.

Roosevelt ran for re-election in 1940, and his victory made him the first and only president to serve for more than two terms. With World War II looming after 1938 with the Japanese invasion of China and the aggression of Nazi Germany, Roosevelt gave strong diplomatic and financial support to China, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Unionwhile remaining officially neutral. Following the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which he famously called "a date which will live in infamy", Roosevelt obtained a declaration of war on Japan the next day, and a few days later, on Germany and Italy. Assisted by his top aide Harry Hopkins, and with very strong national support, he worked closely with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in leading the Allies against the Axis Powers. He supervised the mobilization of the U.S. economy to support the war effort and implemented a Germany first strategy, making the defeat of Germany a priority over that of Japan. He also initiated the development of the world's first atomic bomb and worked with the other Allied leaders to lay the groundwork for the United Nations and other post-war institutions. Roosevelt's physical health seriously declined during the war years, and he died in April 1945, 11 weeks into his fourth term. The Axis Powers surrendered to the Allies in the months following Roosevelt's death, during the presidency of Roosevelt's successor, Harry S. Truman.)

For More Info on FDR Stamp

For More Info On FDR

Stamp commemorating First Man on the Moon

AIR MAIL STAMP 1969 10c Moon Landing 2 lot of us pos... | Tophatter

U.S. #C76 1969 10 ¢ Moon Landing Issue Date: September 9, 1969 City: Washington, DC Quantity: 152,364,800 Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing Printing Method: Lithographed and Engraved (Giori) printing Perforations: 11 Color: Multicolored Commemorates man's first footstep on the moon's surface by Neil Armstrong, Commander of the Apollo 11 mission.

From Wikipedia, (Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut, engineer, and the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also an aerospace engineer, naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was an officer in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean War. After the war, he earned his bachelor's degree at Purdue University and served as a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) High-Speed Flight Station, where he logged over 900 flights. He later completed graduate studies at the University of Southern California.

A participant in the U.S. Air Force's Man in Space Soonest and X-20 Dyna-Soar human spaceflight programs, Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962. He made his first space flight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966, becoming NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space. He performed the first docking of two spacecraft, with pilot David Scott.^[1] This mission was aborted after Armstrong used some of his reentry control fuel to prevent a dangerous spin caused by a stuck thruster, in the first in-flight space emergency.

Armstrong's second and last spaceflight was as commander of Apollo 11, the first manned Moon landing mission in July 1969. Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrindescended to the lunar surface and spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the Command/Service Module. Along with Collins and Aldrin, Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon. President Jimmy Carter presented Armstrong the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978. Armstrong and his former crewmates received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.

Armstrong died in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 25, 2012, at the age of 82, after complications from coronary artery bypass surgery.)^[2][3])

^{For More Info on Stamp}

^{For More Info on First Man on the Moon}

The AAA Stamp: A Place in History.

AAA 3 CENT 2 LOT OF STAMPS AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOC... | Tophatter

U.S. #1007 3¢ American Automobile Association Issue Date: March 4, 1952 City: Chicago, IL Quantity: 117,415,000 Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing Printing Method: Rotary Press Perforations: 11 x 10½ Color: Deep blue U.S. #1007 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the American Automobile Association.

 From Wikipedia, (The American Automobile Association (the "AAA" or "Triple-A") was founded on March 4, 1902, in Chicago, Illinois, when in response to a lack of roads and highways suitable for automobiles,^[4] nine motor clubs with a total of 1,500 members banded together to form the Triple-A. Those individual motor clubs included the Chicago Automobile Club, Automobile Club of America, Automobile Club of New Jersey, and others.^[5] The Automobile Club of Buffalo joined in 1903.^[6]

In 1904, the AAA merged with the very first American automobile organization, the American Motor League under the direction of the first chairman, Augustus Post.^[7][8]

The first AAA road maps were published in 1905. AAA began printing hotel guides in 1917. The Triple-A 

The first AAA road maps were published in 1905. AAA began printing hotel guides in 1917. The Triple-A began its School Safety Patrol Program in 1920, the first of the association's driver safety programs, which provided local schools with materials, including badges and ID cards^[9] to train and organize students into a patrol force. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which conducts studies on motorist safety, was established as a separate entity in 1947.^{[citation needed]}In 1904, the AAA merged with the very first American automobile organization, the American Motor League under the direction of the first chairman, Augustus Post.^[7][8]

AAA created an organization called the Racing Board, and later known as the Contest Board, in 1902 to officiate the Vanderbilt Cup international automobile race in Long Island, New York. The Racing Board sanctioned the Indianapolis 500 and awarded national racing championships in 1905, 1916, 1920–1941, and 1946–1955.^[10] After the 1955 Le Mans disaster, AAA decided that auto racing distracted from its primary goals, and the United States Automobile Club was formed to take over the race sanctioning/officiating. In 2005, AAA re-entered racing as a sponsor of ISC-owned tracks. In 2006, AAA's foray into racing expanded when it made a three-year commitment to sponsor Roush Racing's number 6 car on the NASCAR Nextel Circuit.^{[citation needed]}

In 1935, AAA published Sportsmanlike Driving, the first course outline for high school teachers. In 1936, AAA published the first driver education curriculum for use in high schools (also titled Sportsmanlike Driving, now known as Responsible Driving).^[11] AAA has updated its driver training courses throughout the years and many clubs currently offer their own driving schools, or work with other companies to provide AAA’s driving curriculum.^[12]

Knowing that vehicles pose a hazard to pedestrians, in 1936 AAA began a pedestrian safety program with a grant from the Automotive Safety Foundation. AAA went on to commission and publish (1938) an extensive study of pedestrian safety for the purpose of reducing pedestrian fatalities and injuries. AAA’s Pedestrian Protection Program began in 1937 and focuses national attention on pedestrian safety needs by recognizing cities, counties and states that have demonstrated successful pedestrian safety programs.^[13]In 1935, AAA published Sportsmanlike Driving, the first course outline for high school teachers. In 1936, AAA published the first driver education curriculum for use in high schools (also titled Sportsmanlike Driving, now known as Responsible Driving).^[11] AAA has updated its driver training courses throughout the years and many clubs currently offer their own driving schools, or work with other companies to provide AAA’s driving curriculum.^[12]

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety was established as a separate entity in 1947, and continues to conduct research related to traffic and pedestrian safety.^{[citation needed]}

AAA has also provided services to the U.S. government in times of war. During the 1940s, AAA offered its services to the Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense^[14] in anticipation of becoming involved in World War II. AAA President Thomas P. Henry was appointed consultant in the transportation unit of the Defense Council, and AAA pledged resources, including highway information, to national defense planning efforts as it had during World War I.^[15]

Reductions in manufacturing because of the war increased the need for conservation in automobiles and their related products. AAA's efforts at conservation included supporting the manufacture of synthetic rubber in anticipation of a war-related tire/rubber shortage, urging motorists to reduce their driving speed to conserve fuel (1942); and backing a scrap rubber campaign (1942). In 1944, AAA’s Keep 'em Rolling campaign sponsored a cross-country tour featuring cars equipped with synthetic tires. The tour demonstrated the reliability of tires made with synthetic rubber.^[16] In doing its part to assist in the war effort, AAA placed its mapping facilities at the disposal of the Army department; conducted motor pool driver education (1943); secured an order from the War Production Board that stopped the sale of certain anti-freeze solutions harmful to motors (1943); launched a campaign to alleviate a growing shortage of auto mechanics (1943); monitored tire and gasoline rationing (1943); and established, in cooperation with the Red Cross and military hospitals, a driver training program for veterans with artificial limbs (1944). AAA also assisted in the development of a manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and their operation during wartime (1942).^[17]

The end of the war brought new needs for motorists and AAA assisted by releasing the film "Traffic Jam Ahead", which outlined a practical program for postwar traffic safety, and publishing Post-war Travel Trends as a public service. In 1946, AAA launched a campaign called "Take It Easy", which was designed to reduce traffic fatalities. Subsequently, fatalities dropped 20 percent below the pre-war figure.^[18]

In the 1960s, AAA helped draft the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, setting safety standards for automobiles, tires, and equipment. AAA also helped draft the Highway Safety Act, specifying standards for motor vehicle inspection and registration, motorcycle safety, driver education, driver licensing, traffic courts, highway design, construction, maintenance, and traffic control devices.^[19]

During the oil crisis of the 1970s, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report was created to assist motorists in finding gas stations that had fuel and were open. AAA also began its Gas Watchers program with the endorsement of President Gerald Ford. The Gas Watchers Guide continues to be published to provide simple steps motorists can take to conserve gasoline in their daily driving.^[20]

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed AAA President James B. Creal to the National Alcohol Fuels Commission. Creal also chaired a task force on gas rationing and was appointed to President Carter’s National Council on Energy Efficiency. AAA representatives serving on President Carter's Alcohol Fuels Commission were requested to sign the Energy Securities Act of 1980. In addition, Creal served on the Industries Advisory Board of Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus in the early 1980s.^[21]

In the 1980s, AAA's mapping services received significant recognition when scenic highways were identified on AAA's sheet maps for the first time. AAA maps were used in the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition where more than 13,000 full-color AAA map images were provided on an optical laser disc for demonstration of an in-car navigation device in the Chrysler Pavilion. And in 1985 the AAA North American Road Atlas was sold at retail for the first time and made the New York Times best-seller paperback list within six weeks. AAA experimented in the 1980s with the On-line Touring Information System (OTIS), which eventually was combined with other automated services under the name AAA Travel Match. The self-service terminal worked like an ATM, with rotating menus and touch-control screens that allowed users to obtain local travel information.^[22]

During the mid-1980s, AAA's work with the Coalition to Halt Auto Theft resulted in passage of the Motor Vehicle Theft Law Enforcement Act of 1984.^{[citation needed]}

The AAA School Safety Patrol Program and Lifesaving Medal Award won the Presidential Citation Award for Private Sector Initiatives which honors outstanding volunteer projects in 1985.^[23] A year later, on February 4, 1986, President Ronald Reagan honored a recipient of AAA's School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Medal in his State of the Union Address.^{[citation needed]}

In 1988, AAA focused its legislative efforts on the Truck & Bus Safety Regulatory Reform Act requiring interstate drivers and equipment to meet federal safety regulations. The act was signed into law in November 1988.^{[citation needed]}

AAA joined government and private-sector companies—the Federal Highway Administration, Avis, General Motors and the Florida Department of Transportation—in 1990 for the Smart Car experiment, also known as the TravTek Project. This test of a computerized in-car navigation and travel information system demonstrated consumer acceptance of telematics technology that would make driving easier and reduce traffic congestion.^[24][25]

A new driver's education program, "Teaching Teens to Drive", was introduced by AAA in 1996 to focus on parent involvement in teen driving education. A year later, in 1997, AAA launched Licensed to Learn, a campaign to increase awareness of the need for Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws in every state. At the outset of the campaign only eight states had enacted GDL laws. Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of GDL legislation.^[26]

Research in the 1990s led AAA to pursue another issue of importance to US motorists: a transportation crisis resulting from infrastructure that had been under-funded for many years. The Crisis Ahead: America's Aging Highways and Airways research led to AAA helping to shape two pieces of landmark legislation: the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 1998 and the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21) in 2000.^[27] Both laws embrace the principle that user fees charged to motorists and air travelers should be fully invested in improving and modernizing the nation's surface and air transportation infrastructures.^[28][29][30]

Because of its work in traffic safety AAA was cited in 1998 as the Clinton Administration's number one traffic safety partner by U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater. And in 2000, NHTSA presented AAA with a public service award in appreciation of AAA's leadership in the Child Passenger Safety Certification Program, which teaches how to properly install infant/child safety seats, and for its continuing efforts in Graduated Driver Licensing.^[31]

Skyrocketing gas prices led AAA to testify before three Congressional committees regarding increased gasoline prices in 2000, and to lobby to prevent Congress from repealing parts of the federal gasoline tax, which would have reduced Highway Trust Fund revenue without guaranteeing consumers any relief from high gas prices.^[32][33][34] Participating in the U.S. Department of Transportation secretary's Aviation Summit, AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet communicated AAA's stand on the aviation crisis saying that consistent underfunding of the nation’s air transportation infrastructure had led to the crisis and offering a four-point plan to help turn it around.^[35] Also that year, AAA testified before Congress and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on proposed hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers and launched Share With Care, a public education campaign on safely sharing the road with trucks.^[36]

In the early 2000s (decade), AAA’s focus on helping seniors stay mobile longer and more safely led to an appointment to the White House Conference on Aging.^[37] AAA promoted solutions such as senior-friendly road design, screening tools, education for seniors and their families, and supplemental transportation. Reader's Digest highlighted AAA's transportation safety agenda by focusing on the importance of road safety improvements, particularly for seniors.^[38] To help seniors become safer drivers or to recognize signs that it’s time to stop driving, AAA developed Roadwise Review, a computer-based screening tool enabling older drivers to identify and address physiological changes that could affect driving.^[39])

^{For More Info on Stamp}

For More Info on AAA