Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) delivered a series of dubious teachings to a group of teenage students at an eclipse-viewing event on Monday. Speaking to the students outside Houston’s Booker T. Washington High School, she said that the moon consists mainly of “gases” and she wanted to be among the first set of people to live there.
“You’ve heard the word ‘full moon.’ Sometimes you need to take the opportunity just to come out and see a full moon is that complete rounded circle, which is made up mostly of gases. And that’s why the question is why or how could we as humans live on the moon? Are the gases such that we could do that?” she said.
“The sun is a mighty powerful heat, but it’s almost impossible to go near the sun. The moon is more manageable. And you will see in a moment — not a moment, you will see in a couple of years, that NASA is going back to the moon,” she added.
Obviously I misspoke and meant to say the sun, but as usual, Republicans are focused on stupid things instead of stuff that really matters.
What can I say though, foolish thinkers lust for stupidity! https://t.co/ABGxUdRqF6
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) April 9, 2024
Jackson Lee, who once led the House Science Committee’s space subcommittee, went on to give a strange explanation of the reason for the solar eclipse, failing to say anything about the alignment of the sun and the moon.
“I don’t think we’ve been on the moon the last 50 years. So we will be landing on the moon. What you’ll see today will be the closest distance that the moon has ever been in the last 20 years. Which means that’s why they will shut the light down because they will be close to the Earth, which is an amazing experience. You will be able to tell because there will be complete darkness” she stated, adding, “I don’t know about you, I want to be first in line to know how to live and to be able to survive on the moon. That’s another planet which we’re going to see shortly.”
Join us LIVE at Booker T. Washington High School for a viewing of the solar eclipse! https://t.co/nlOWZBGHBo
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) April 8, 2024
Jackson Lee continued with several questionable statements, including a claim that the moon does not only reflect the sun’s light but also emits a sort of “unique light and energy.”
The lawmaker also warned the students against looking directly at the sun, saying that doing so could lead to them being walked out while holding their arm as they will not be able to leave on their own.
Defending her claim that the moon is “more manageable” because it is “made up mostly of gases,” Jackson Lee wrote on X, Obviously I misspoke and meant to say the sun, but as usual, Republicans are focused on stupid things instead of stuff that really matters. What can I say though, foolish thinkers lust for stupidity!”
Obviously I misspoke and meant to say the sun, but as usual, Republicans are focused on stupid things instead of stuff that really matters.
What can I say though, foolish thinkers lust for stupidity! https://t.co/ABGxUdRqF6
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) April 9, 2024
In another post, she somehow managed to make the matter a political one by infusing women and children’s rights into the issue.
“Also, I care more about these children who would not have experienced the eclipse in this enthusiastic manner. And I care more about protecting the rights of women and children than engaging in this kind of senseless dialogue,” she wrote in a follow-up post.
Also, I care more about these children who would not have experienced the eclipse in this enthusiastic manner. And, I care more about protecting the rights of women and children than engaging in this kind of senseless dialogue!
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) April 9, 2024
Jackson Lee has made questionable claims about science in the past before. In 1997, she visited NASA and demanded to see an American flag she claimed was planted there in 1969 by astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Rather than accept her misstep when she was told that no human being had ever been to Mars due to its very far distance, she claimed anger and accused NASA of racism.