From Cox and Forkum:
This cartoon was created the day of the Columbia Shuttle disaster. Last year, Capitalism Magazine posted two op-eds about Columbia. The Spirit of the Space Shuttle Columbia: The Essence of the American Soul by Robert Garmong.
The ground of east Texas trembled with the horror overhead. The shock waves spread as the worst fears were confirmed: space shuttle Columbia had turned from a high-precision machine into a lifeless meteor, its crew lost. Americans were hit with a degree of shock not equaled since September 11. […] Only something that struck uniquely close to the American soul could have caused the degree of shock and horror with which we have responded to the Columbia disaster.
And Hail Columbia by Nicholas Provenzo.
Those of us who remember the loss of the Challenger and the Apollo fire before then, are reminded that great leaps often entail great risks. Yet we should be loath to say that the heroes of Columbia died for space flight. They lived for it, and that included the real risk that they might die. They turned space into a new frontier; a frontier that speaks to our every potential as a species.