TIME TO SOAR

The U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron Air Combat Command unit has been flying above the globe for 52 years. It's been a bit longer since the United States government first assembled a unit of power. As Nancy Pelosi puts it, "In more than 200 years of history, there was an established pecking order -and I cut in line."

2007 is off to a promising start as, for two weeks in a row, we're hearing good news about the blows to the marble ceiling.

It shouldn't be surprising that it took more than 200 years for Congress to select a female speaker of the House. The United States isn't exactly at the forefront when it comes to women in politics. Women make up a larger share of the national legislature in 79 other countries, including China, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an association of national legislatures. The U.S. even trails a couple of fledgling democracies: Afghanistan and Iraq.

And just out of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, joining the Thunderbirds in the no. 3 right wing position will be Capt. Nicole Malachowski, currently assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom. Captain Malachowski will turn a new page in history as the first female demonstration pilot on the jet team.