Weekend Open Thread

Welcome to your weekend open thread. It’s the weekend and this is a good thing.

Speaking of good news, it was announced that Gabrielle Giffords will attend her husband’s space shuttle launch at the end of the month.

“The congresswoman wants to go, and Mark very much would like her to be there,” her spokesman, C.J. Karamargin, said. “They’ve always been very supportive of each other’s careers and that hasn’t changed.”

The dates of the congresswoman’s travel haven’t been decided and she will not meet with the media or issue a statement while she is in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Karamargin said. He and Giffords’ chief of staff, Pia Carusone, planned to hold a news conference after the launch to discuss “her reaction to her husband’s latest mission,” Karamargin said.

“The thinking on our part is that it’s going to be a potential emotional moment, so we just thought it’d be best for the staff to speak,” he said.

Giffords may not be seen publicly if she attends the launch, since she won’t meet with the media, and families view launches at Kennedy Space Center from a restricted area. But Karamargin said that was still under discussion.

I think we would all love to see her speak but it’s only been 3 months since she was shot in the head. I’m happy that she’s recovered enough to travel and I look forward to seeing her speak when she’s ready. She has certainly inspired a lot of people.