I'm not going to debate this, but here's what I think and feel.

I have nothing against selling anything. Free enterprise is what has made this country the greatest in the world and I believe in the marketplace as the best determinant of the price of goods. These sick b@stards have a right to sell anything they want to at any time.

What I do not believe in is purposefully benefitting from someone else's tragedy, and rushing to the marketplace to do so. And anticipating the fervor to buy anything connected to the Columbia and setting a high price to meet that fervor. Not because the item you are selling will suddenly become "rare", but simply because you know there are "suckers" out there who think they won't be able to buy a Columbia patch after today for $4.50 like they could last week.

Don't get me wrong. I don't want anybody to intervene and stop these bloodthirsty vultures from earning their money. I'm just disappointed that they swooped in on the bodies of the astronauts so quickly, without hesitation or a period of mourning. I have no problem with people who were selling Columbia related items before the tragedy continuing to do so. I DO have a problem with people who suddenly list dozens of Columbia items within hours of the deaths, and do so at prices that reveal their sole motive is to capitalize on the emotions of the moment.

I just want them to have a little respect for the families of the dead. It's easy to think of astronauts as some ficitional characters we watch in movies or on television. These were real people. With wives, husbands, children, parents, brothers, sisters and friends. The fact that they died in front of our eyes on national television doesn't change that.