Chelsea Clinton gives a nine year old reporter the back of her hand. Nice to know that Clintonian arrogance and haughtiness has been passed on to the next generation.

The Altair Has Landed: Virtual Reality, Telepresence, and the Return to the Moon

An Eighth Harry Potter Book: More speculations

Fred Thompson addresses the people of Iowa.

It seems that the economy of China is much less than many had assumed, though still pretty large. A six trillion dollar economy is not exactly of third world dimensions and, despite the various problems China faces as described in the article, still makes that country dangerous. A point of comparison, six trillion was about the size of the United States economy in the 1980s.

Rand Simberg, not surprisingly, disagrees.

And as Meade points out, the government is not sufficiently stable to risk the popular uproar that might be engendered by large numbers of people who are unhappy to see their national wealth spent to send a few taikonauts off to Luna, while they continue to have no running water. I expect the Chinese program to continue at its current snail's pace, but to think that they will beat us back to the moon any time soon, or at all, remains a fantasy.

The problem with Rand's analysis, aside from the fact that Meade doesn't even mention China's space program, is that China is not ruled by the sort of people who care overmuch what the people think. In fact, it is ruled by people who are quite willing to imprison and even slaughter dissidents. If and when China goes to the Moon will not be determined by popular vote, but by a few people in Beijing making decisions based on what they (not Rand, myself, or anyone else) view as China's self interest.

And the Chinese might well beat us if we make some bad decisions, like bringing the choice of hardware to go back to the Moon with into the political process and thus waste a number of years wrangling about it.

I'm finally amused by the assumption that the Internet Rocketeer Club has lots of new recruits among the Chinese proletariat:

That means that the Chinese peasants, the vast majority of whom are still in poverty by US standards, are likely to be even less happy about boondoggles to the moon than we are.

Has Rand actually talked to even a single Chinese peasant? How does he know what the attitude is concerning China's space efforts? Do they actually consider efforts to go to the Moon a "boondoggle?" And who is this "we" Rand is referring to?

Addendum: Sam Dinkin suggests that there is less than meets the idea here and that China still has a lot of potential.

An eighth Harry Potter novel? Somehow I thought it might be so.

A story about Charlie Wilson that somehow did not make it into the movie.

Four Space Haiku II

Apparently Oprah's fans are not happy with her embrace of Barack Obama. This is something I predicted.

Oprah may, in fact, have hurt herself in this regard. She used very partisan rhetoric and took some very controversial opinions, especially on the War on Terror, while touting Obama in terms worthy more of introducing the next Messiah than the next President.

It's very rare that I read an essay by Peggy Noonan without a twinge of sadness. The Celtic bard who once sang of the Reagan Revolution and whose stories of 9/11 and the immediate aftermath still ring in memory has become--well--tired.

How else to explain this:

This is my 2008 slogan: Reasonable Person for President. That is my hope, what I ask Iowa to produce, and I claim here to speak for thousands, millions. We are grown-ups, we know our country needs greatness, but we do not expect it and will settle at the moment for good. We just want a reasonable person. We would like a candidate who does not appear to be obviously insane. We'd like knowledge, judgment, a prudent understanding of the world and of the ways and histories of the men and women in it.

Well, heavens, who might that be? Noonan explains:

Here are two reasonables: Joe Biden and Chris Dodd. They have been United States senators for a combined 62 years. They've read a raw threat file or two. They have experience, sophistication, the long view. They know how it works. No one will have to explain it to them.

Sorry, but no. Both Senators are hacks who favor appeasement abroad and socialism at home. I'm not very impressed by years in the Senate either. We used to have a saying that there are people with thirty years of experience and people with one year repeated thirty times. Biden and Dodd fit in the latter category.

She likes Romney, which shows that she hasn't taken leave of all of her senses, and even McCain who--despite his being a lion on the War--I have serious doubts about. Then she falls for the Obama as JFK myth.

Barack Obama? Yes, I think so. He has earned the attention of the country with a classy campaign, with a disciplined and dignified staff, and with passionate supporters such as JFK hand Ted Sorensen, who has told me he sees in Obama's mind and temperament the kind of gifts Kennedy displayed during the Cuban missile crisis. Mr. Obama is thoughtful, and it would be a pleasure to have a president who is highly literate and a writer of books.

The problem is that in substance Obama is the opposite of JFK. Can you imagine him making a speech with these words: "Pay any price, bear any burden...?" I think not. And hw about: "We choose to go to the Moon!" Obama wants to stop all of that.

But he's not ready yet, as even Noonan can see:

Is he experienced enough? No. He's not old enough either. Men in their 40s love drama too much. Young politicians on fire over this issue or that tend to see politics as a stage on which they can act out their greatness. And we don't need more theatrics, more comedies or tragedies. But Mr. Obama doesn't seem on fire. He seems like a calm liberal with a certain moderating ambivalence. The great plus of his candidacy: More than anyone else he turns the page. If he rises he is something new in history, good or bad, and a new era begins.

Actually Obama, like most Democrats, is very much a man of the 1970s. And worse, while Noonan calls him "calm" I call him boring.

Noonan still can't stand Hillary. But then, not even her husband can do that.

One problem is that we sometimes don't really know for certain how a candidate will behave as President. George W. Bush was, as Noonan suggested, the moderate in 2000. 9/11 forced him to be the man who stood up on the rubble of Ground Zero and become what he is today, hammer of terrorists and liberator of nations.

Even Reagan, whom I suspect is still Noonan's favorite President, was misjudged and underestimated. He dared to dream the death of communism and then set about to achieve that dream. Most people, even in his own party, thought he was a bit touched for daring that. And yet, within a year of Reagan's departure from office, the Berlin Wall fell. And Reagan lived to see the Hammer and Sickle lowered for the last time.

Noonan should remember that as she pines for "reasonableness."

Four Space Haiku I

A somewhat dated but still interesting segment on carbon nanotubes and space elevators.

A review of the first two episodes of The Sarah Conner Chronicles. Some spoilage involved.

Rand Simberg pronounces the end of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems (COTS) program. Prematurely, of course.

Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated.

Addendum: John Podhoretz proclaims an end to the holiday from history in the Presidential primary.

I tend to agree. This has the potential for calamity on an epic scale, as it is taking place in an unstable country with nuclear weapons.

US political effects? Bad for the Democrats. Any reminder that the world is a dangerous place tends to make people run to the adults in the Republican party. McCain and Giuliani perhaps benefit.

Addendum 2: A more comprehensive take on the story, The Murder of Benazir Bhutto and the Future of Pakistan and the War on Terror

Rumor has it that a tribble will make a cameo appearence in the upcoming Trek film.

Japan would like to build a megalev rail line from Tokyo to central Japan. The stumbling block appears to be the cost of about forty five billion dollars.

Predictions for 2008: Foreign Affairs Edition

The Space Frontier Foundation gives Congress, and especially Senator Barbara Mikulski, the the back of its hand for gutting the Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems program.

If you're even half as angry about this as I am, then it's time to let Congress know that you're mad as hell and not going to take it any longer. Even if it doesn't do any good, won't it just feel grand to let your Representative and Senator know how you feel!? And while you're at it, write a letter to your local newspaper editor.

All very appropriate suggestions, if a little late in the game. Here is my suggestion to SFF and space activists in general. The time to raise hell about this sort of thing is before and not after the fact. That way there is a chance of actually stopping it. If you don't have contacts within Congressional staffs to give alerts about this sort of thing, it's time to make them.

Will the Clintons kill Clintonism?

Predictions for 2008: Movies Edition

More on the up coming film, Fly Me to the Moon

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all readers of Curmudgeons Corner.

Merry Christmas, from the crew of Apollo 8, thirty nine years ago today.

Ron Paul is not quite a pure as he would leave one to believe.

Predictions for 2008: Politics Edition

Drilling "UP" into Space for Energy

	I received 100 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Take the Sci-Fi Movie Quiz canon s5 is

Bill Kristol celebrates the real Man of the Year, General David Petraeus.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Will Oprah Winfrey Be a Kingmaker?

How About a Modern Lincoln Douglas Style Debate?

Congressman Dave Weldon Wants to Save the Space Shuttle Fleet

A Gore spokesman says that some of the scientists who came out against the man made theory of global warming are in the pay of Exxon-Mobil.

Charlie Wilson's War: Another Case of History vs Hollywood

President Bush may have a way to cancel all of the pork that Congress has tucked away in the Omnibus spending bill. Do it!

Charlie Wilson's War, which depicts American efforts to support the Afghan mujahidin's efforts to fight a Soviet invasion, is being attacked for liberal bias.

Hillary's Christmas ad--with some enhancements courtesy of Red State.

The fall out of the decision by the US Congress to slash funding for COTS continues.

Some of my readers wonder why I am so hard on those people whom I collectively call the Internet Rocketeer Club. It's not just the hyper rhetoric (which by the way turns off a lot of people who are not space fans), or the desire to turn the selection of hardware into a political football, or the tendency to whine. Incessantly. Constantly. Without pause.

What really makes me want to reach for a baseball bat is the total waste of time these people are indulging in. Let's face it. The Space Activism community is too small and too divided to affect things like what kinds of rockets and space craft we build to take people back to the Moon. This is especially true if for some reason the person in question chooses not to reveal his or her name. Anonymous posts in the comments section of someone else's blog is the equivalent of graffiti on the bathroom wall and is generally treated as such.

In the mean time, while people are posting comments about how horrible the Ares is and how NASA generally sucks, Congress is free to slash funding for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Systsms program. That august body also still refuses to fund the Centennial Challenges adequately. They did these things apparently without debate or hearings, in the middle of the night, to slip into an Omnibus Spending Bill along with a lot of other dubious provisions to jam down the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Here's my own challenge. The next time you feel tempted to post on some blog your deathless thoughts about how the Vision for Space Exploration is going to hell in a hand basket, try to resist that temptation. Instead use the time to call your Congressman and Senators and mention that you're unhappy that COTS got cut and the Centennial Challenges aren't really getting funded at all. Try to use calm, sensible language (that is to say, don't come off as a raving lunatic.)

I think you will find that you have done more for the cause of making our civilization a space faring one than a thousand fervent posts on the Internet.

The oscillation issue concerning the Ares 1 is one of the several problems that have cropped up that is causing the Internet Rocketeer Club to collectively jump up and down and shout that the end times are near. Oddly enough, the folks actually working on the project are taking steps to solve the problem.

Carnival of Space 34 is now up.

How to Write Alternate History

As Christmas approaches, please note several holiday pieces by Your Humble Servant. I discuss the Flight of Apollo 8 an the awe inspiring Christmas Eve message from the astronauts thirty nine years ago. On Christmas, 1914, a strange Christmas Truce broke out along the trench lines of the Western Front. Finally there is a reson we celebrate Christmas in December. It was to do with the Roman holiday of Saturnalia.

The Attorney General of Oklahoma seems to have actually banned Christmas--in a sense.

These scientists should just shut up and not try to confuse the issue of global warming with facts and such. The matter is closed. There is a consenus. That great climate change expert and Nobel laureate Al Gore said so.

It should be noted that yesterday, December 19th, marks the 35th anniversary of the completing to the last mission to the Moon, Apollo 17. That fact alone should be considered a blot on our civilization. Current plans suggest that it will be another dozen years before that blot is wiped out by the next expedition to the Moon. It will be longer still if certain people (say Clinton, Obama, certain members of Congress) have their way. Longer even still if others, who actually want to open up the selection of hardware to get back to the Moon, to the political process.

Professor Sir David King, who clearly had to drive a beat up old used car as a teen ager, says that women should stop admiring men who drive hot sports cars. It's to fight global warming, after all.

But what if the guy drives a Tesla?

The Democrat Congress declares war on science.

"One would think that countries that committed to the Kyoto treaty are doing a better job of curtailing carbon emissions. One would also think that the United States, the only country that does not even intend to ratify, keeps on emitting carbon dioxide at growth levels much higher than those who signed.


And one would be wrong."

If we look at that data and compare 2004 (latest year for which data is available) to 1997 (last year before the Kyoto treaty was signed), we find the following.


Emissions worldwide increased 18.0%.
Emissions from countries that signed the treaty increased 21.1%.
Emissions from non-signers increased 10.0%.
Emissions from the U.S. increased 6.6%.

USA Network has cancelled both The Dead Zone, which I have not watched regularly, and The 4400, which I have.

Dave Weldon's keep the shuttle proposal is a little much even for the Orlando Sentinel.

A scaled-back approach to closing the gap -- suggested by Florida's senior U.S. senator, Democrat Bill Nelson -- is more practical: Lawmakers would focus on finding up to $500 million for one extra shuttle flight to put in orbit a $1.5 billion space experiment that is now grounded, and keep fighting for more money to speed up the Constellation program.

We share Mr. Weldon's hope that his plan will spur a national debate about the space program's future. All the presidential hopefuls need to weigh in.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if a campaign were bold enough to run something like this for real?

Children of Apollo for the Amazon Kindle is now available:

David Livingston sends the following appeal:

December 18, 2007



Dear Friend of the Space Show:



Do you know that space is the only domain where we the inhabitants of the Earth, despite our different cultures, nationalities, and religions, consistently work at our best, and to work together in peace and cooperation? Space is an arena in which unprecedented partnerships have been formed, reformed, all with startling results. Expanding upon these unprecedented partnership, by partnering with the Space Show and One Giant Leap Foundation (OGLF) you can help us facilitate the change to a space-faring world. Not only are you the listener essential in listening to the programs but also in promoting our show, its mission, and vision to others, but, we need you as supporters and financial backers. Both The Space Show and OGLF can't do it alone so as you read this 2007 fundraising appeal letter, please consider doing all that you can with all that you have at this given time. By making a donation to insure that our work continues. Frankly, no gift is too large, or too small. Together, the gifts add up, and help us keep our mission in focus, our programs on the air, and our archives available. Remember, charitable gifts to the Foundation are deductible to the extent allowed by law.



The Space Show was born to bring a unique message to the public. A message that would make sure that people everywhere had the opportunity to understand space development in the context of what it could do to make living on our planet better for all peoples now and into the future. Assuring that the public understands the importance of being space-faring is fundamental to our successful future right here on Earth. It is also the driving force behind The Space Show.



As you the listeners know, the One Giant Leap Foundation, a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization was created to promote space education and understanding among the general public, including school-age children, and to stress the importance of all issues relating to space and that we talk about on The Space Show. Currently, OGLF controls and operates The Space Show. OGLF plans to expand its activities. For 2008 alone, there will be a new Space Show website with full indexing and search functions, plus video and other multi-media capabilities. We would like to start the Space Show chronological anthology project for all Space Show programs so that they can be cataloged, indexed, printed, and place in digital media for distribution to libraries and research centers, plus for sale in bookstores. Many other projects are planned as well, but these exciting and important plans are costly. The Space Show and One Giant Leap Foundation can not do this essential work without the help and assistance of individuals such as you. Even maintaining almost 1,000 archived programs of The Space Show available for free downloading is a massive undertaking.



In support of The Space Show/OGLF and its work, we ask you to click on this link http://www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/individuals.htm which will take you to our special OGLF/Space Show Pay Pal donation page. Become our partner in helping OGLF to keep The Space Show and its mission alive and growing. For those of you preferring to make a donation by check, please make it payable to One Giant Leap Foundation and mail your check to P.O. Box 95, Tiburon, CA 94920.



Space remains the only environment where there has been no crime, no fighting, no weapons, and no aggressive behavior. Space has shown itself time and time again to be the best path possible to a peaceful existence on Earth. Space also presents us with the possibility of solutions to our terrestrial energy and resource problems we all know only too well. Both The Space Show and OGLF are playing an important role in helping humanity to become space-faring and accomplish visionary goals. We hope you decide to help us reach these goals.



Thank you.



Sincerely,





David M. Livingston

Ann Singer

Hillary Clinton tops one poll that I doubt she is happy about.

In a new Fox 5-The Washington Times-Rasmussen Reports survey, 64 percent of Republicans, 42 percent of third-party or independent voters, and 17 percent of Democrats said the candidate they most want to keep from the White House is Mrs. Clinton.

Speaking of the Space Flight Gap, the development of the Dragon proceeds apace.

The Hobbit and a sequel to be produced by Peter Jackson is apparently greenlit.

I was somewhat agog at the news that lunar land prices are booming. Mind, no one can actually own lunar land, for various reasons, and people who think that they do actually own pretty pieces of paper. Still, it shows that there is a market if an arrangement could be made for people to legally own lunar real estate.

More details on the Weldon plan to keep the shuttle flying. Weldon says it will cost ten billion over five years. Griffin suggests seven.five to twenty billion.

Addendum: More details. Jeff Foust wonders why offer a bill with no chance of passage. A possible answer:

So why introduce it at all, besides demonstrating to constituents that you’re trying to help the local economy by keeping the shuttle and its jobs in place for a while longer? Weldon hopes that his bill will “force a national debate over the future of America’s space program”, in particular among the presidential candidates. Weldon criticized the Republican candidates for not being forthcoming about their proposed space policies, according to the Sentinel.

A look at heavy construction on the Moon.

Landing the Orion Space Craft

The Conundrum of Dexter Morgan

Hillary has actually cited the film Independence Day, the one in which President Bill Pullman leads the American military to smite down invading aliens.

"There's so much we can do together if we work together as a world. Remember that movie Independence Day, where invaders were coming from outer space and the whole world was united against the invasion? Why can't we be united on behalf of our planet? And that's what I want to do, to get more and more people to understand that and to be involved to protect our environment."

Hillary, as usual, is rather wide of the mark. If aliens showed up to take our planet, such liberal Democrats who were left after New York, Washington, and Los Angeles were dusted, would be to blame President Bush for not pursuing the diplomatic option.

They told me that if George W. Bush were reelected all sorts of horrible things would happen--and they were right!

Dwayne Day travels to Hoagland-land and finds much to be agog about.

Joe Lieberman is going to endorse John McCain for President. Of course everyone is dreaming of a McCain/Lieberman tocket. Mind, I don't think McCain is getting the nomination and I don't particularly want him too, but it's nice to see that Lieberman is continuing down the path away from the Democrat Party.

Looks like Dave Weldon, having concluded that NASA can't turn lead into gold, is going to attempt to provide extra funding for his plan to continue flying the shuttle and still keep the Constellation project on track. Of course, I suspect that the amendment hasn't a chance in Hell of passing.

Looks like NASA will be a partner in Britain's proposed lunar probe.

I am Legend

Rand Simberg imagines the New Life Church Massacre without gun control, in this case being a steady aim.

Thirty years of Star Wars Christmas Cards.

Michael Novak suggests that the Democrats have embraced defeat for themselves.

The new lunar lander that will take people back to the Moon will now be called Altair. Notice now the patch evokes the glorious past.

The avionics for the Ares 1 will be built under an open source contract. The practical effect is that in the future, other companies can bid on future contracts.

The Carnival of Space 33 is now up.

The Golden Globe nominations are out. Notice the conspicuous absence of the anti Iraq War fare.

The Democrats are having a bad day in the media.

The era in which we can create the Six Million Dollar Man or the Bionic Woman is not here yet, but it is drawing nigh.

Man Conquers Space

A fuel cell that runs forever?

Pray, what is an islamic car?

Al-Attas said the focus seemed to be not on making the car "Islamic," but "rather on using the term 'Islamic' as an advertising tool purely for economic gain."

He said Islam was not "the handmaiden of politics or a cliche for advertising, business and economics ... far from ennobling the Muslims and the Muslim world, such proposals like an 'Islamic car' bring shame, and invite unnecessary ridicule."

One would think that someone would object to that.

A little peek into Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

A first look at Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

The exploration of the Moon has, so far, scratched the surface. That is about to change.

Ad Astra and NASA have signed a Space Act agreement to help advance the development of the VASMIR plasma rocket engine.

A study just out by a group of actual climate scientists suggests that global warming is caused by--well--the sun.

Dennis Wingo fears that the current Vision for Space Exploration is in danger of going to way of the Space Exploration Initiative. I'm pretty sure that is not the case.

Dennis' history is a bit faulty. SEI was never really funded as anything other than a study program, despite efforts of the Bush 41 administration. VSE, on the other hand, is relatively well funded. One can argue that it could use more money, but the fact is that NASA is bending metal and seems on track to actually flying hardware when it says it will.

SEI was strongly opposed by the Congress. Some of the same members of Congress (Senator Mikulski for example) who opposed SEI now support VSE.

That is not to say that VSE cannot get into political trouble. Neither Senator Clinton nor Senator Obama seem to be supportive. And the program might even suffer due to the budget chaos now extant because of the incompetence of the current Congressional leadership.

Still, Dennis' ideas about linking VSE to energy production are sound ones.

Addendum: Rand Simberg, not surprisingly, jumps in with both feet to agree with Dennis' thesis.

With VSE, it's more a case of negligent manslaughter, rather than premeditation. ESAS, and NASA's lack of vision, is killing the Vision. And the administration is too preoccupied with other things, and long in the tooth, to do anything about it.

Dennis and Rand might be able to sell this proposition with more credibility if they could offer some meaningful metrics to back it up. Making a vague complaint about "lack of vision" doesn't quite cut it, especially when one notes that every speech Mike Griffin has made on the subject is filled with vision.

What sort of metrics would indicate that VSE is "dying?" Let me help here:

(1) Lack of public support. Most polling data indicates that there is still strong support for the idea of going back to the Moon and on to Mars. Of course there is room for improvement in this area, as Mary Lynne Dittmar suggested in a two part article in Space Review. But there is no organized opposition to VSE, as there for a number of other government activities (say, the war in Iraq.)

(2) Lack of political support. Again there doesn't seem to be much evidence here. Unlike SEI, Congress has tended to fund VSE relatively lavishly. Unlike with the project that became the International Space Station, there has been only one near death experience for SEI, which took place in its very first year, but was quickly squashed by the first veto threat made by the Bush Administration and the efforts of then House Majority Leader Tom Delay.

That is not to say that there isn't a potential for politics to seriously damage or even kill out right VSE in the future. The project suffered a half billiob dollar shortfall caused by the budgetary chaos which in turn was caused by the transition from GOP to Democratic control. Budget chaos continues under the current, incompetent leadership of the Democratic Congress.

Support for VSE seems lukewarm, at best, among the Democratic Presidential candidates. Most of the GOP candidates strongly support the project, however, in principle.

(3) Technical and fiscal problems. ISS was plagued by lots of budget overruns and schedule slippages, some caused by technical and design problems, some by managerial incompetence. Despite the rumor that crops up on the Internet every three months of the "imminent death" of the Orion/Ares space craft, this doesn't seem to be the case for VSE. Mind there are technological challenges, often exaggerated for political reasons by foes of the project, that need overcoming and it is conceivable that one or more might trip things up.

In conclusion, while one can seriously point out shortcomings in the VSE program and suggest solutions, to suggest that "VSE is dying" seems to this analyst to be super heated, hysterical rhetoric, on the level of Harry Reid braying that "the war is Lost." This sort of thing tends to complicate any serious analysis of space policy, since it allows NASA and others to automatically dismiss any criticism, constructive or otherwise.

A reader over at Instapundit notes that there seems to be a big market for Iraq War content in the video game market. One would think Hollywood would take notice.

More proof that fear of global warming causes bizzare behavior. A tax on children.

Civil War reenacting is so passe. How about reenacting a battle that has yet to take place?

Dave Weldon commands NASA to perform a miricle.

SEC. ____ . (a) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall take all actions necessary in fiscal year 2008, including renegotiating necessary prime contracts and subcontracts and ensuring that they do not expire, in order to ensure the option of operating the Space Shuttle beyond the currently planned Shuttle end-of-operations date in 2010. These actions shall be accomplished using existing funds made available by this or any other Act, and shall include --

(1) permitting no contracts necessary for suchoperation to expire;

(2) keeping all necessary production facilities active, or readily available; and

(3) conditioning any turnover of Shuttle facilities to programs other than the Shuttle program so as to ensure that such turnover will not affect the option to operate the Space Shuttle after 2010.

(b) Actions taken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under this section shall not negatively affect Constellation program development, schedule, or delivery.

(c) Not later than March 1, 2008, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall report to Congress on how it intends to implement actions under this section within existing funds. Such report shall include a description of the proposed disposition of facilities and how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will keep all Shuttle operations operating while still maintaining the schedule for the development of the Constellation pro gram.

No word as of yet whether Rep Weldon wants NASA to turn lead into gold, raise the dead, or find an honest person in Congress.

Back in 2002, while briefed on the technique, Nancy Pelosi didn't think tha waterboarding was any big deal. I wonder what has changed since then?

The Golden Compass

The following is a novel about what is in store for Europe about a hundred years hence:

“Slavery is a part of Islam . . . Slavery is part of jihad, and jihad will remain as long there is Islam.” —Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan, author of the religious textbook At-Tawhid (“Monotheism”) and senior Saudi cleric.Demography is destiny. In the 22nd century European deathbed demographics have turned the continent over to the more fertile Moslems. Atheism in Europe has been exterminated. Homosexuals are hanged, stoned or crucified. Such Christians as remain are relegated to dhimmitude, a form of second class citizenship. They are denied arms, denied civil rights, denied a voice, and specially taxed via the Koranic yizya. Their sons are taken as conscripted soldiers while their daughters are subject to the depredations of the continent’s new masters.


In that world, Petra, a German girl sold into prostitution as a slave at the age of nine to pay her family’s yizya, dreams of escape. Unlike most girls of the day, Petra can read. And in her only real possession, her grandmother’s diary, a diary detailing the fall of European civilization, Petra has learned of a magic place across the sea: America.

Robot surgeons in space and on Earth

Yesterday there was a panic that the FAA might cause the shut down of the Mojave Space Port. Glenn Reynolds checked the story out and found out that it isn't true.

Can there be any doubt that Harry Reid is starting to lose his mind?

Narrowing the Space Flight Gap

Will the Private Sector Come to NASA's Rescue?

Addendum: One of the comments on Slashdot had a fun question. What if SpaceX becomes the Microsoft of space? My answer: Bring it on.

The trailer for Prince Caspian is up.

Go Speed Racer...

Skepticism Mounts over NIE Findings by Ken Timmerman

If Congress inserts a ban on humans to Mars in the NASA funding bill, Tom James has a cool way to get around it.

Whoever is crafting the Congressional language is falling into the same trap that many if not most people do when discussing space and NASA's role in it: the idea that space is for "exploration" and nothing more. And they compound this error with the use of "exclusively"...apparently intended to avoid curtailment of robotic exploration, the language in fact only limits activities on or related to Mars whose sole function is human exploration. Call me optimistic, but it would seem this proposal would not in fact curtail human activity on Mars -- it would instead force it to be something more than exploration.

Such as, maybe, settlement.

Oddysey Moon announces its plans to go for the Google Lunar X Prize.

Mitt Romney, Mormonism, and the Religious Test

Governor Mitt Romney has given the speech, not so much about his Mormon faith but about his personal view on religion, which many people have been waiting for. It is sad that there is still an unspoken "religious test" that compelled him to do so. But he delivered with great eloquence and should lay to rest any anxieties that any reasonable person might have about a Latter Day Saint in the White House.

The Falklands War, as rather implausible alternate history.

Some members of Congress want to keep the shuttle flying past 2010. Several problems with this. One is that it will cost NASA lots of money it doesn't have nor will Congress apparently give it. Two is that as the shuttle fleet ages, astronauts lives will be put at risk.

Addendum: This proposal, by the way, should proove as a caution to our friends in the Internet Rocketeer Society who want to--in effect--open up the design of the Orion/Ares to the political process. There is no telling what the Fools on the Hill will do should that happen.

Carnival of Space 32 is now up.

Alan Boyle profiles the first team to go after the Google Lunar Prize.

TV Spin-Offs I'd Like to See

Barack Obama shows once against his propensity for making insane policy proposals by making one that would, in effect, enslave school kids by making them work fifty hours a week on "community service" projects. I wonder if Obama will allow our children to actually sleep.

Nimbyism, which has stymied wind farm projects in other states, has arrived in Texas.

A blogger has found the-er-"lead paint" in the recent Chang'E photo of the lunar surface. The good news is that it wasn't faked. But there is bad news.

The Copperhead Caucus are jumping up and down about a National Intelligence Estimate that suggest that Iran stopped it's nuclear bomb program in 2003 (oddly enough just a few months after we took down Saddem Hussein.) Victor Davis Hanson and Michael Ledeen are somewhat skeptical that all this means peace in our time with Iran.

Addendum: Was US Intelligence duped by Iran? Ken Timmeerman thinks it might be so.

Addendum 2: The Mossad is also skeptical.

Addendum 3: It can be argued that if the report is true, it constitutes another major success of Bush's foreign policy.

Looks like SpaceX may go public in a couple of years.

Martin Scorsese does Hitchcock--after a fashion.

Points for people who can catch all of the--er--inspirations in this short, hitherto undiscovered masterwork.

Will Hillary Clinton drag down down ticket Democrats? Some Democrats think so.

How to Sling Mud: A Guide for the Discerning Politician

Apparently the Newt Ginrgich/Bill Forstchen alt history series that began with Pearl Harbor will run thirteen volumes. I guess Newt and Bill are going to try to match Harry Turtledove.

The next book in the series, Days of Infamy, will be out next Spring.

Heard on the rumor mill. James Purfoy, AKA Marc Antony in the HBO series Rome, will play Harry Flashman, that nortorious adventurer,soldier, lover, and cad in a series of films.

Hillary Clinton: Inevitable No More

Erich R. Hedman suggests more space cooperation with India and China. He is half right. In my view India but not China would make an excellent space partner.

If the Congress includes language in the NASA funding bill, in effect, banning the human exploration of Mars, Michael Huang suggests ways of cicumnavigating that prohibition.

I suggest a more straight forward approach. A veto threat.

It appears that Hugo Chavez has met with defeat in his attempt to grab dictatorial power through a referendum. Let's see if he attempts something underhanded to grab that power anyway.

Barack Obama Wants to Pit Space Explorers Against School Children

Does the retirment of a number of GOP Senators have a silver lining? Maybe. It's a good thing to clear out some of the deadwood and get in some new blood. But also developments in Senate and House races may depend on how the top of the ticket fares. A meltdown on either side could drag down a few down ticket candidates.

An excellent examination of how the Orion is being developed.

The question is central to Orion's unusual design philosophy. For every challenge facing Orion's engineers, there is a simple mantra: Borrow or buy before you invent.

That is, borrow technology NASA has already used, if it works. Buy technology from the commercial world that has been introduced in the past three decades, technology NASA didn't have to pay to develop or debug. And if you can't find a solution in stock or off the shelf, only then do you go into the NASA workshop and mix up something new. Everything is ultimately adapted for Orion, but the resourcefulness provides two things the manned space program needs: efficiency and confidence.

Red State gives the back of its hand to Ron Paul. Ron Paul is one reason I cannot be a libertarian.

Carnival of Space 31 is now up. So is Best of the Moon 2007.