OK, now suppose you're the President of the United States. And suppose you're trying to make nice with the Muslim world so that maybe they would, you know, help turn off the spicket of new blood into the ranks of terrorism, or whatever.

So suppose further that your tack includes, let's say, making Muslims feel good about their contributions to the scientific enterprise. So you're gonna spend some money, reach out and thank them for preserving the Greek classics and thus helping to lay the foundations for modern science, and, in the bargain, congratulate them for the work some of their best minds have done in, I don't know, math and engineering, let's say. Plus, you want them to know that you, as President of the most powerful nation in the world, and official spokesman for her 300 million citizens, you want them to know that you know what a great contribution to scientific progress the Muslim world has made over the years.

So how do you do that? Here's an idea: Now that NASA has been officially stripped of any ability to put people in space - since, as we know, we can rely on the Russians to get us back and forth to wherever - since NASA has all those staff and computers and stuff, and, well, they're not doing anything in space, how about we get NASA to take as its top priority - not just a priority, but top priority - making the Muslim world feel good about its place in science history? Yeah, that's a good idea.

Is it? Is that a good idea? It is the new mission for NASA, according to the agency's Administrator, who revealed on Monday that President Obama has charged him, not with putting Muslims in space, but with creating a space for Muslims in the history of science.

Well, I don't know about you, but when I don my big white hat, snap on my Cheshire grin, and serve myself a little tea and small pills, this makes perfect sense to me.

I suppose.

T. M. Moore