Curmudgeons Corner
Random thoughts on politics, current events, popular culture, and whatever else interests me.
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Wednesday, July 09, 2025
“I don’t think it ever does any good for somebody like Elon Musk to annoy his biggest customer, which is the United States government,” space policy expert Mark Whittington said.
However, he underscored the government is also highly dependent on SpaceX, making it hard for Trump to realistically cut off the company.
Musk’s threat last month to decommission SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which is responsible for ferrying astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station, sent shockwaves through the space community. He ultimately walked back the threat.
“SpaceX is so good at what it does, launching things into space, and is far beyond any of his competitors,” Whittington added. “There’s not much the federal government can do to him without alternatives.”
Tuesday, July 08, 2025
Monday, July 07, 2025
The statement about his political contributions is incorrect based on public records. Isaacman has donated to Republican candidates, including Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), now the chairman of the House Transportation Committee. However, more recent donations, including those in the 2024 election cycle, were to Democratic candidates and organizations. That donation history almost certainly would have been part of the vetting process for his nomination, which Trump announced in December 2024.
Isaacman has also pushed back on claims, advanced by Democratic senators during the confirmation process, that he is close friends with Musk. “I do not have a close personal relationship with Mr. Musk,” he said in written responses to questions for the record after his April 9 confirmation hearing, calling his relationship with Musk “professional.” He also denied that Musk had contacted him about leading NASA, saying that his interactions were with the Trump transition team.
Sunday, July 06, 2025
Now, the Earth approaching asteroid has a new target. A small chance exists that it will hit the moon in 2032. The prospect presents new dangers, though not as great as the destruction of a city.