Dead Drop: June 14

MAJOR MALFUNCTION: We recently heard the sad news that former astronaut William Anders died when a plane he was piloting crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Anders led a remarkable life – as evidenced by the fact that he was still flying at the age of 90. He was most famous, not for flying, but for taking the iconic “Earthrise” photo from the Apollo 8 spacecraft on its mission as the first spacecraft to orbit the moon. Naturally, most major U.S. media carried extensive obituaries (many which were probably prepared years in advance.) And there’s the rub.  We’ve mentioned before that it is increasingly noticeable that many news organizations are unfamiliar with pretty common military matters. Anders was an Air Force fighter pilot who was a major at the time of the Apollo 8 mission.  He elected to leave active duty in 1969 and took a series of jobs in government and the private sector.  But Anders remained in the Air Force reserve and retired as a major general in 1989. But many of the news organizations referred to the death of “Major Anders” last week.  The New York Times called him “major” more than a dozen times. That title was accurate when describing his rank while on his lunar orbital flight – but not when discussing his later years.  To their credit, The New York Times eventually corrected their mislabeling – and owned up to the mistake.  We understand The Washington Post was also notified of the error in their obit – but when last we checked – they had failed to fix the error.  It may seem like a small issue to some – but giving an American hero the respect of calling him by the proper rank – seems to us like the right thing to do.

HATS OFF TO THE RUSSIAN JUSTICE SYSTEM: Say what you will about the Russian concept of free speech – well, maybe say it just beneath your breath. Because saying the wrong thing can result in a lengthy stay in a jail cell.  As evidence – look to this story from The Moscow Times which reports that a man in Russia’s Ural region encountered an 11-year-old boy who was wearing a hat with the Z symbol – which implies support for the ongoing war (umm, make that “special operation”) in Ukraine. The man, Alexander Neustroev, must have been a little cranky since he told the lad: “shove that hat up you’re a**, moron.”  He later apologized – but the Russian courts were not mollified and have sentenced Neustroev to three years in prison. Apparently, Russian courts are really concerned about the tender ears of their youth. Either that or the sanctity of their Z hats.