Arnold disses Obama as only Arnold can:

According to Drudge, Zogby has McCain pulling ahead 48% to 47%. One poll, of course, but it ought to spark panic among the acolytes of the One.

Erica Jong, who used to be just interested in sex, is now interested in violence as well. Blood will run in the streets if Obama is not elected.

Addendum: "Second American Civil War" Predicts Erica Jong

Barack Obama as Ellsworth Toohey?

Team McCain seems to be cautiously optimistic.

More punishment of the media by Barack Obama.

Think that electing Barack Obama means more money for NASA? Not if Barney Frank has his way:

Reducing the amount of money spent on sending humans into space would be another priority, Frank said. "Space exploration is very important and has great scientific and practical results, but sending human beings to Mars and back will cost hundreds of billions of dollars for very little scientific worth."

Prairie Fire, William Ayers' Revolutionary Manifesto, Resurfaces

A book titled Prairie Fire, published by the Weather Underground in 1974, has resurfaced to haunt the Presidential campaign of 2008. Among the authors are William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, friends and political allies of Barack Obama.

Barack Obama's Aunt and Uncle Found Living in Poverty

Barack Obama has another relative living in squalid poverty, in this case an aunt who resides in a slum in South Boston. Her name is Zeituni Onyango, a native of Kenya, and Barack Obama's father's sister.

War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast

Seventy years ago today, Oct. 29 1938, Orson Welles, then a theater and radio director and producer, pulled off one of the greatest hoaxes in history. He convinced a great deal of people that the Martians had invaded the Earth.

Review: Barack Obama's Thirty-Minute Infomercial

Reactions to Barack Obama's thirty minute infomercial pretty much split across ideological lines among the people who were paid to see it, which is to say journalists and pundits. How the rest -- Obama loyalists mainly -- reacted is as yet unclear.

NASA, not surprisingly, begs to disagree that the Ares 1 is doomed. The launch drift problem seems to be well known and managable.

Cook also said that computer simulations showing Ares I crashing into the tower only under certain very specific weather conditions.

"The wind condition that we are concerned about is a southerly wind at 34 knots. In our estimate that would only happen about 0.3 percent of the time in any case," Cook said. "So this is another issue that's been taken very much out of context."

Barack Obama has more relatives in grinding poverty that the One can't be bothered to help out.

Elizabeth Dole Ties Opponent to Godless Americans PAC

Senator Elizabeth Dole is in a tough race for reelection. So Elizabeth Dole has started to air a thirty second ad linking her opponent, Kay Hagan, with an organization called Godless Americans Pac. Naturally the Hagen Campaign is crying foul.

I wonder how much Martian opals would bring on the open market?

NASA is still looking at ways to move up the first launch or Orion/Ares by a year.

Ir appears, as many suspect, that Barack Obama's ties to Acorn are more extensive than he would like people to know.

Barney Frank, that obnoxious, pathetic, noxious excuse for a human being, the gay card.

So I guess it's not the support for higher taxes or slashing military spending or even the opposition to going to Mars after all.

CTU disbanded? Jack Bauer called to account before a Senate Committee? A female US President? Genocide in Africa? Terrorism in the United States? Tony Almeida alive again? (!!!) Season 7 of 24 must be drawing nigh.

More on Sally Ride Endorses Barack Obama

Former astronaut and first American woman in space Dr. Sally Ride has endorsed Barack Obama. This is not as surprising as one might think. Sally Ride has been, if anything, a liberal Democrat activist.

Barack Obama, the LA Times and the Video Tape

It took over four years for a secret tape to rock the Nixon Administration. A secret video tape has started to be a problem for Barack Obama even before his potential election as President. The difference is that this time the tape is being suppressed by the media.

Sally Ride supports Barack Obama, which is not surprising as she is a hyper partisan Democrat and, by all accounts, a bit of a feminazi. She even supported Walter Mondale, the most openly anti space politician in American public life(besides Bill Proxmire) in 1984. Which renders the following a bit hollow:

Obama also has impressed me with his grasp of the challenges our space program faces and his agenda for where we go from here. Obama clearly understands the importance of human spaceflight and exploration. That is why he supports increasing NASA's budget to close the gap in American spaceflight capability.

Of course Obama opposed the space program before he supported it, to coin a well worn phrase. If he gets elected, which one do we get, one wonders?

Meanwhile, Jeff Foust that Ride is on Obama's short list as NASA Administrator.

Barack Obama and "The Second Bill of Rights"

What is the "Second Bill of Rights?"; The idea, that seems to be forming as part of the Barack Obama Agenda of redistributing wealth, was first articulated by none other than President Franklin Roosevelt during his 1944 State of the Union Address.

Richard Dreyfus Bad Mouths Oliver Stone on 'The View'

The actor Richard Dreyfus was on The View recently, ostensibly to flack his new film, W, in which he plays Vice President Dick Cheney. Richard Dreyfus actually wound up running down both the film and its director, Oliver Stone.

Did Barack Obama win the nomination through voter fraud and intimidation. Some Hillary reporters think so.

Sarah Palin Hanged in Effigy

Halloween draws nigh and with it not only scary things, but attempts to be funny and macabre at the same time. For Chad Michael Morisette of West Hollywood that means an effigy of Sarah Palin hanging by a noose from the roof of his house.

Rashid Khalidi is Another Barack Obama Scary Friend

It seems that Barack Obama has yet another scary, obnoxious friend. His name is Rashid Khalidi, currently the head of the Middle East Studies Department at Columbia. Khalidi, to put it succinctly, is an apologist for terrorism and virulently anti Israel.

Usually when a French President gets all snooty about an American politician being an "empty suit", I get irritated. This time, though, I cannot help but agree with Sarkozy's assessment of Barack Obama.

A William the Conqueror movie. Interesting and with some personal connection. An ancestor of mine fought at Hastings.

Robert Walker suggests that the next Administration may scrap the Ares 1 in favor of the EELV option.

Starz is putting together a Spartacus miniseries. Mind, the Kirk Douglas version was a classic, so one wonders why it should be made at all:

"This is not going to be at all like the 1960s Kirk Douglas film," Shelanski said. "We didn't want your typical sword-and-sandals. It's going to be fun, fast-moving, full of action and interesting characters and have a little more depth to it than the 1960s film."

Fun? As I recall the surviving slaves, after the rebellion was put down, were crucified on the road between Capri and Rome.

Dean Barnett RIP

Spitzer Epsilon Eridani Discoveries Spur Discussion

Could an Earth-like world actually be in orbit around Epsilon Eridani, the sun that shines over the fictional world of Vulcan, the home of Star Trek's Mr. Spock? Scientists differ, but recent discoveries made by the Spitzer space telescope hold out some hope.

Jeff Foust has an account of this year's Lunar Lander Challenge in which Armadillo Aerospace won level one, but fell short at level two.

Barack Obama on Redistribution of Wealth

More evidence of Barack Obama's rather expansive view of government and his desire to redistribute wealth came to light in a seven-year-old interview on a Chicago radio station, WBEZ FM, when he was a State Senator.

White People Shouldn't Be Allowed to Vote says Jonathan Valania, at least until they come to their senses.

First trailer for the film version of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

The Orlando Sentinel suggests that the Ares 1 is doomed. The new problem seems to be that a computer model shows the launch vehicle drifting laterally after liftoff and hitting the launch tower. Insurmountable problem or fixable? The debate is sure to rage.

Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, had something interesting to say about commercial space policy and Barack Obama.

“I am very happy where I am,” Richardson replied, then added, “But here’s what I want to be sure of: that the Obama Administration is pro-commercial space. [applause] We’re going to push that. We’re going to make sure it’s pro-space: pro-government space but also pro-commercial space. I think it’s in the interest of our national space industry that commercial space be properly developed. So I’ll be an advocate wherever I am, hopefully here still as governor of New Mexico, but you never know.”

One wonders how that can happen, considering Barack Obama's plans to raise taxes to "spread the wealth."

Orlando TV Station Punished for Joe Biden Interview

The Obama Campaign can get very angry with journalists who ask hard questions of Joe Biden, as a Florida TV station found out. The Obama Campaign has cut off WFTV-Channel 9 from any further interviews with the campaign.

John McCain has just said, in effect, "Our enemies are not going to test me. I'm going to test them." I do love it so.

Joining in the contrarian mode, I predict that John McCain will win. here's why.

More on NASA's New Lunar Rover

NASA has unveiled a new prototype lunar rover, called the Chariot, a production version of which is hoped to be operational on the lunar surface by 2019. NASA is now testing the Chariot lunar rover in Arizona, on terrain that resembles the lunar surface.

A Letter from 2012 in Obama's America

Focus on the Family, a social conservative group run by James Dobson, has issued a document entitled Letter from 2012 in Obama's America. It's just in time for Halloween, because the letter describes a true horror show.

Kind of from a Christian Conservative perspective, but something to think about.

NASA demonstrates its new lunar rover prototype.

Government computers are being used to dig up dirt on Joe the Plumber. Expect more of that sort of thing if Obama becomes President.

Looks like the Armadillo Aerospace Pixel vehicle has won phrase one of the lunar lander challnge. Congratulations to John Carmack and the folks at Armadillo.

The Shenzhou and the Falcon 1

Recently two great milestones in space travel occurred. The third flight of the Chinese space craft, the Shenzhou, took a crew of three into Earth orbit and featured the first Chinese space walk. Meanwhile SpaceX, a private commercial space launch firm owned by entrepreneur Elon Musk, successfully launched its Falcon 1 rocket into Earth orbit after three failed attempts.

Dean Corll Victim Randell Lee Harvey Identified

In a drama that seems like a real life version of Cold Case Files or Bones, Randell Lee Harvey, aka body ML73-3349, was finally identified as one of the last victims of the notorious Houston area serial killer, Dean Corll.

Andy, Opie, Ritchie and the Fonz Support Obama

Ron Howard, the former actor and famous film director, has cut a video in support of Barack Obama. This is not unusual for a Hollywood mover and shaker. What is unusual is Ron Howard's way of presenting the case for Obama.

Addendum: Maybe John McClane, Rocky Balboa, John Rambo, Conan the Barbarian, Caotain John Sheridan, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer can cut their own video endorsing McCain.

Ashley Todd: Hate Crime or Hoax

Ashley Todd, a campaign volunteer for the McCain/Palin Campaign, reported to police that she was mugged and then assaulted at an ATM machine in Pittsburgh. Ashley Todd hails from College Station, Texas, and is twenty years old.

Addendum: Apparently Ashley Todd has confessed to making up the whole thing.

A lot of Obama people are bit creepy in the way Deaniacs were four years ago. We can only hope that Obama does not announce to his followers that it's time to board the Mother Ship and start passing out kool aid.

Oliver Stone's W certainly sounds obnoxious to me. But also it seems to be boring.

Greenpeace is apparently against fusion too. Why?

Yes, the fuel for fusion is abundant, and far more productive than fossil fuel - one litre of seawater can produce as much as 30 litres of petrol. It's much safer than nuclear fission. And it doesn't release CO2. So what's the problem?

"Governments should not waste our money on a dangerous toy," Jan Van de Putte of Greenpeace International said when ITER was announced in 2005. Van de Putte predicted it will never be efficient - so why bother?

Spokesperson Bridget Woodman said: "Nuclear fusion has all the problems of nuclear power, including producing nuclear waste and the risks of a nuclear accident."

(Which must break the record for the number of false and contradictory assertions you can cram into a 17-word sentence. But that's par for the course these days.

Via Stacy Bartley

Is the Obama donation website set up to facilitate not only credit card fraud, but election law violations?

Polls: John Murtha is in Trouble

John Murtha (D) Pennsylvania is probably the most obnoxious man in the Congress, which is remarkable when you consider it also contains Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank. When John Murtha is not accusing Marines of war crimes, he is accusing his own constituents of racism.

William Shatner, George Takei Have a Tiff

Watching William Shatner and George Takei fight their long distance grudge match on the media is more than a little sad. It's sort of like watching two of one's grandparents squabble like children. Worse, it sullies certain happy memories of space adventures long ago.

South Park: Pandemic

South Park is not for everyone. On one level the humor is rude and crude beyond description, with on air depictions of body functions and gay sex sometimes cropping up. But South Park is also the best satirical show on TV bar none.

Apparently there are three firms competing for the commercial cargo contract for the ISS.

Bill O'Reilly on 'The View' Becomes Often Surreal, Bizarre

Bill O'Reilly, the pugnacious radio and TV personality, was on The View recently. O'Reilly had a great time mocking the ladies on The View, especially Joy Behar, and making controversial statements, such as calling Barack Obama a "communist."

Code Pink Tries to "Arrest" Karl Rove

Code Pink is one of those strange organizations that could not be considered plausible if it were to show up in a work of fiction. Its latest comic atrocity was to try to "arrest" Karl Rove at a meeting of San Francisco mortgage bankers.

Orson Scott Card drops the hammer on the mainstream media.

The AP Poll has McCain and Obama virtually even.

More on India's Chandrayaan 1 Successfully launches

The Indian Moon mission, the Chandrayaan 1, has launched successfully from the launch complex at Andhra Pradesh in southeast India. Chandrayaan 1 is in orbit around the Earth, preparing to be fired into a trajectory to lunar orbit.

Did Al Qaeda Endorse John McCain?

The Washington Post is reporting that certain Al Qaeda terrorist web sites are actually suggesting that the terrorists would prefer a McCain Presidency to an Obama one. The implied endorsement seems a little bizarre, all things considered.

First there was George Lucas suggesting that Barack Obama would make a great Jedi. Now Daniel Craig thinks that Obama would make a great James Bond. Mind, I think John McCain would be a better "M", but now all we have to have is the ghost of Gene Roddenberry coming back to say that Obama would be a great Captain of the star ship Enterprise.

Addendum: Stacy Bartley turns it around and wonders which Star Trek characters would make a good POTUS. He nominates Ben Sisko.

Roger Simon goes after both W and An Ameerican Carol as examples of bad political movies>.

Mike Griffin deplored, in effect, the Internet Rocketeer Club.

"Are we at a place where differences of engineering (opinion) are cited as evidence of lying or malfeasance? This is not how any of us were taught to conduct an engineering discussion," he said at a symposium of top NASA leaders and industry executives in Alabama.

Congratulations to the people of India for the successful launch of the Chandrayaan 1. And also to Paul Spudis of the Lunar and Planetary Institute down here in Houseton, Principal Investigator, mini-SAR experiment on board the Chandrayaan 1.

GWU/Battleground Poll: John McCain Down by One

The GWU/Battleground Poll, run by Republican strategist Ed Goeas of The Tarrance Group and Democrat Celinda Lake of Lake Research Partners, has John McCain just one point behind Barack Obama, the two candidates at 48% and 47%.

The Hummingbird Position in My Own Worst Enemy

Viewers of the new Christian Slater spy thriller series, My Own Worst Enemy, are asking themselves one single question, besides how the improbable premise of the show, now on NBC, got on the air. What on earth is the hummingbird position?

The Case Against Barack Obama

Mark Foley has endorsed Barack Obama. I suppose that means Obama has the pervert vote.

Addendum: Then again, maybe not: 'An online article posted today on Variety's website innaccurately reported that I was supporting Barack Obama. The story on Variety's website, based on a second or third-hand account of my private conversation, is incorrect. I have already voted by absentee ballot in Florida. Although I didn't vote for Senator Obama, I intend to keep my choice private.'

Rush Limbaugh's Criticism of Colin Powell "Overtly Racist"

When Colin Powell announced his rather strange endorsement of Barack Obama, no other figure than radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh took umbrage, According to Rush Limbaugh, denials to the contrary, Colin Powell's endorsement was about race,

New York Times Trashes Cindy McCain

Joe Biden: 'We're Gonna Have an International Crisis'

Joe Biden, Senator, candidate for Vice President, and walking, taking gaffe machine has done it again. At a fund raiser in Seattle Joe Biden promised that the election of Barack Obama would cause an international crisis for the United States.

Byron York discovers an army of Joes, including a man named Tito and a woman named Connie.

John Stewart goes berserk about Sarah Palin. One wonders what it is about strong, confident, conservative women that are so threatening to folks like the host of The Daily Show.

Addendum: It occurs to me that it's all part of the grievance mindset of liberals like Stewart when they take offense when someone like Sarah Palin speaks with pride of her small town roots. Stewart just assumes that she is by necessity dissing his home town of New York by doing that.

That seems to be the difference between people like Stewart and people like Sarah Palin. I suspect that if Sarah Palin heard--say--Rudi Giuliani talk about how great New York is and how proud he is to be a New Yorker, she would not automatically yell, "@!&* Rudi Giuliani!" We conservatives know when we are being dissed and we we are not, you see. Like when we're bitter people clinging to God and guns.

Recently Robert Sibley wrote at length about the Chinese drive for dominance in space. I mention this partly because he quotes Your Humble Servant extensively. Sibley concludes:

I suppose westerners could entertain themselves with Star Trek reruns while others explore the final frontier.

Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

Former Secretary of State and General Colin Powell endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama while appearing on Meet the Press. Those who have followed the career of General Powell are wondering why? Powell and Obama agree on very little.

My personal opinion is that it's all about revenge.

On the other hand, Rush Limbaugh is pretty sure it's about race.

"Secretary Powell says his endorsement is not about race," Limbaugh wrote in an email. "OK, fine. I am now researching his past endorsements to see if I can find all the inexperienced, very liberal, white candidates he has endorsed. I'll let you know what I come up with."

Ouch. I can hardly wait until tomorrow's show.

Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live

For some weeks, Tina Fey has been mercilessly mocking Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin during skits on Saturday Night Live as perky but dimwitted. Most recently, it was the actual Sarah Palin's turn to get a little revenge.

The Persecution of Joe the Plumber

Poor Joe Wurzelbacher. There he was, minding his own business in front of his modest, middle class house, when the rich, smooth talking politician selected him to be a political prop for a good photo op. But Joe the Plumber had the temerity to ask a question.

The Obama Camapaign and the McCain Campaign are accusing the other of plotting to cut NASA. My sense is that since Obama was against space exploration before he was for it, he would be more likely to take a hatchet to space spending (and blame George Bush for it) rather than McCain, who has been pretty consistant about his support for space, regarding it as a national security issue.

Universal child health care didn't work so well in Hawaii.

Glenn Beck to Jump to Fox News

Glenn Beck, a radio talk show host, book author, and TV personality, has been lured by Fox News away from his current job at CNN Headline News where Glenn Beck had been hosting an hour long show at 7 PM on week days. He will host a 5 PM show on Fox.

Planes and cars made of buckypaper. I wonder how it would affect space craft design.

Hecklers are showing up at Obama events weilding plungers.

It seems that not even a 12 year old is exempt from Obama supporters' efforts to crush dissent.

Is G. Gordon Liddy McCain's William Ayers?

John McCain appeared on the David Letterman Show, which for a Republican is the equivalent of Daniel willingly going into the lion's den. But John McCain was not afraid, even when Letterman brought up the name of G. Gordon Liddy.

Brad Pitt wants to do a version of The Odyssey, but set in space. I think that it was already done some time ago.

More concern<> about China's eventually surpassing the United States in space.

Joe the Plumber as the Forgotten Man.

The "Honor Killing" of Sarah and Amina Said

Nine months ago, on New Years Day, Yaser Abdel Said, an Irving Texas cab driver, is alleged to have shot to death his two teenage daughters, Sarah, age 17, and Amina, age 18, to death. The FBI is now saying that the murder was an "honor killing."

A conversation with an internal pollster for Barack Obama. Gist is that they are very worried that Sarah Palin will turn a lot of people out to vote who aren't being picked up by the polls.

Roe v Wade in the Presidential Debate

The famous case of Roe v Wade came up during the judicial nominations portion of the Presidential debate. How McCain and Obama handled the question illustrates the explosive nature of the whole abortion controversy.

School Vouchers Come Up in the Final Presidential Debate

The subject of school vouchers came up during the final Presidential debate in Long Island. School vouchers or school choice has been controversial. Parents and students generally favor them. The teachers unions and the Democratic Party oppose them.

John McCain, Barack Obama and the Joe the Plumber Debate

Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama met in the final Presidential debate. They clashed on a number of domestic and economic issues with CBS's Bon Schieffer moderating. In the end the consensus seemed to be that the winner was—Joe the Plumber.

It was Mark Twain, I think, who said that a lie could travel half way around the world in the time the truth takes just to put on its shoes. Certainly the Obama Campaign has exploited this truism to the hilt, as in the canard that someone at a McCain Palin rally yelled, "Kill him!" Meaning Obama. The Secret Service, however, has concluded that, it never happened. Mind, it did not stop Obama from repeating the lie at last night's debate.

George Will celebrates efforts to preserve and protect the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. We went there in the Autumn of 2000. It was a feeling beyond awe to walk on ground where nearly a hundred and forty years before men in blue and gray met and clashed to decide on two different visions of America. I remember standing on the Little Round Top and I could almost imagine the sounds of minie balls whipping past, the groans of dying men, and the sound of Chamberlain drawing his sword and ordering the charge that likely decided the battle and the future of America. Later, I was at the Robert E. Lee monument, looking across the ground that Pickett's men crossed, then looking back at the statue and saying, out loud, "What were you thinking, Marse Robert."

It will know doubt annoy poor Thomas Whittington, who fought for the Stars and Bars in the western theatre, but I am not one of those southern boys who dream about it being two in the afternoon on the third day.

Joe the Plumber comments on the debate:



Is it just me, or does Joe look a lot like Vic Mackey from The Shield? In any case, if I were Obama, I would be hesitant to get on the bad side of him.

The Politico has an interesting post debate survey. Overall, Obama wins by just three points. But McCain wins among independents by nine.

Christmas Movies to Own and Enjoy

Joe the Plumber, Barack Obama and Tax Increases

Recently Barack Obama was accosted by Joe Wurzelbacher, a Toledo, Ohio, plumber who had recently gone into business for himself. The exchange they had about taxes illustrates who the real victims of an Obama administration would be.

Apparently John Murtha hates his own constituents almost as much as he hates Marines.

Raila Odinga is Another Scary Barack Obama Friend

Who is Raila Odinga? Odinga was a candidate for President of Kenya that Senator Barack Obama raised almost a million dollars for. Raila Odinga is also an ally of Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi. But there is more.

Jesse Jackson: Obama to End 'Zionist Control of Foreign Policy'

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, an Obama supporter and himself a former presidential candidate, had some alarming things to say about "Zionists" and how they would be treated in a future Obama administration, according to Amir Taheri at the New York Post.

Are Obama supporters now engaged in credit card fraud to support their guy?

Apparently science funding, including NASA, would increase under a McCain Administration, despite the proposed budget freeze.

Jesse Jackson promises that Barack Obama is going to stick it to the Jews.

Bill Maher apparently lied to the people featured in his film, Religulous.

The following is a satire from The Onion, but sadly not too far from reality, all things considered:


Precocious Youngster Sells Cookies To Buy Attack Ad

Obscene Anti-Palin Shirts Worn by Obama Supporters

Obama supporters, especially in the media, are trying to spread the narrative that the rhetoric in the Presidential campaign is getting "ugly" or even "dangerous." One doubts that they are thinking of some particularly vile anti Palin t-shirts showing up on the bodies of Obama supporters.

Jessica Hughes' Kafkaesque Nightmare

Jessica Hughes, a woman living in Lufkin, Texas, in 2008, recently experienced something that could have come out of the pages of Kafka, or in the old Soviet Union, or perhaps during a future Obama Administration. This was because she was rude to an Obama volunteer.

Tim Mahoney's Sex Scandal

Rep, Tim Mahoney (D) Florida has a problem. It seems that he had a mistress whom he promised a fifty thousand dollar a year job at the ad agency that handles his campaign advertising to keep her from talking or perhaps even suing.

The new McCain economic recovery plan is now out:

SENIORS: Lower Taxes On Seniors Tapping Their Retirement Accounts.

SENIORS: Suspend Tax Rules That Force Seniors To Sell Their Stocks In The Midst Of This Financial Crisis.

SAVERS: Accelerate The Tax Write-Off For Those Forced To Sell At A Loss In The Current Market.

SAVERS: Reduce Capital Gains Taxes For 2009 And 2010 To Raise The Incentive To Save And Invest.

HOMEOWNERS: Purchase Mortgages Directly From Homeowners And Mortgage Servicers, And Replace Them With Manageable, Fixed-Rate Mortgages.

WORKERS: Eliminate Taxes On Unemployment Benefits.

Rich Lowry observes that financial panics and government bailouts are nothing new, being at least as old as Alexander Hamilton. So declarations of the death of Capitalism are, as usually, premature.

Dwayne Day examines the past, present, and possible futures of the Indian and Chinese space efforts.

Maureen McCormick Publishers Her Memoirs>

Maureen McCormick, best known for playing Marcia in the early 70s TV show The Brady Bunch, has come out with her memoirs, Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice. The book seems to be a depressing litany of celebrity drugs and sex.

There's an old joke that the communists took over the Sahara Desert and within five years created a shortage of sand. Hugo Chavez seems to have managed a similar feat in his oil rich country of Venezuela. Meanwhile, the new democracy in Iraq is about to rake it in by selling oil reserves to western countries. Despite hysteria about "war for Oil", there is a lesson here.

Paul Krugman Awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics

When Paul Krugman was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, more than a few eyebrows were raised. It is true that Paul Krugman is a professor at Princeton. Krugman is also an oped columnist for the New York Times and a fiery critic of President George W. Bush.

Looks like Barack Obama wants to be ready to draft women. Meanwhile, Barack Obama talks to a plumber about the virtues of income redistribution.

Happy Columbus Day

Mark Hillman continues the discussion of the thuggishness of Obama supporters.

Dinesh D'Souza saw "Religulous" and found Bill Maher not only arrogant, snide, and idiotic, but something of a coward.

Stanley Kurtz explains the roots ot the current economic crisis.

India is preparing for its own mission to the Moon with the launch of Chandrayaan-1.

Looks like Ridley Scott wants to direct a film version of Joe Haldeman's classic The Forever War.

John Lewis Compares John McCain to George Wallace

John Lewis, a Democratic Congressman from Georgia, is a hero of the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, when he risked death to advance the cause of equal rights. John Lewis, since then, has not been particularly heroic, as illustrated when he compared John McCain to George Wallace.

Richard Garriott Becomes Latest Space Tourist

Richard Garriott has become the latest space tourist to travel to the high frontier. Along with another American, Mike Fincke and a Russian, Yuri Lonchakov, Richard Garriott blasted off on board a Soyuz space craft for a stay on the International Space Station.

A review of the start of Firefly: Season Seven.

The Chicago Tribune makes it very clear. Oppose Obama or have reservations about him becoming President, and you are a potential assassin. Another excuse to crush dissent.

Jeff Foust analyzes the effect of the current economic crisis on commercial space.

Michael Barone welcomes us to the coming Obama Thugocracy where free speech will be suppressed and opposition intimidated and harassed into silence. That alsone should disqualify Obama from any office of public trust.

Sarah Palin "Troopergate" Report Released

The "troopergate" report on Governor Sarah Palin is in and the conclusions seem contradictory. In essence the report says that Sarah Palin had the right to fire Walt Monegan for any reason, but did not have the right to pressure Monegan to fire Michael Wooten.

Jim Benson: RIP

The Chinese manned space program is just about five years old, and it is already attracting conspiracy theorists. If this is true, then we can expect a faked Chinese Moon landing any day now.

Louis Farrakhan: Barack OBama is "The Messiah"

Minister Louis Farrakhan, the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, has declared Barack Obama to be the Messiah. Farrakhan did this at a gathering last February, but the video has just hit Youtube and is causing shock waves.

Life on Mars Debuts on ABC

The American version of the British TV series Life on Mars premiered recently on ABC. The premise for the American Life On Mars, as with the British version, is that a 21st Century police detective finds himself mysteriously in 1973.

Martti Ahtisaari Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Ahtisaari beat out a Chinese dissident and a Chechen human rights activist for the Peace Prize. The remarkable thing is that Ahtisaari has actually been involved in making peace.

Hillary Clinton once confronted her SNL avatar on screen. Now it's Sarah Palin's turn.

Apparently Barack Obama recently engaged in a little diplomatic freelancing with a goal of undermining Bush Iraq policy. Lyndon Johnson once called this sort of thing "treason."

ACORN, Voter Fraud, the Subprime Mess and Ties to Barack Obama

One of the great political scandals of 2008 concerns a left wing group called ACORN, which is now not only under investigation for voter registration fraud in multiple states, but is also tied to subprime mortgage mess. Barack Obama also has ties to ACORN.

Apparently the Obama people are quite inept at the nuts and bolts of running a campaign. Even the plane smells bad.

A reader to Keith Cowing's NASA Watch takes umbrage at John McCain's criticism of one of Barack Obama's pork barrel projects:

The Adler Planetarium to which Sen. McCain refers is one of our key education and public outreach partners for many NASA projects. Sen. McCain's criticism of the heart of the Adler Planetarium is anti-science, threatening to kill off one of the best ways we have to communicate the scientific results of a NASA mission to the public.

Of course that begs the question whether Obama arranged to have this earmark tucked into federal appropriations because he has a love or science or because someone on the Adler board is a supporter. Jeff Foust suggests that it could be the latter.

The problem with earmarks, which the NASA Watch reader may not be aware, is not that some of them are not worthy. The problem is that earmarks are not subject to the regular appropriations process. They are tucked into appropriations bills as the result of backroom deals that involve campaign contributers and lobbyists. Earmarks are, in effect, an incentive for corruption and graft. They also divert money from other, perhaps more worthy projects. NASA has suffered over the years from politicians diverting money to pet projects.

If the Adler projector is such a worthy thing, it should be proposed as part of a regular appropriations bill or financed by the private sector. Accusing John McCain of being "anti science" because he agrees with this is a partisan smear.

David Plotz uses Red Dawn to make some anti American rantingts. I'm sure his very wrong about it being the most violent movie in history. Kill Bill was surely bloodier.

Mind, I wouldn't put it past Hollywood to remake Red Dawn with Americans as the horrible invaders. It would be just like them to do that.

Dick Morris has an essay on the uses of negative campaigning. He also, inadvertently, destroys one of the myths of space political history.

It is a matter of conventional wisdom that Harrison Schmitt lost his Senate seat in New Mexico twenty six years ago because he was rather too interested in space policy to the determint of issues New Mexicans cared about. Dick Morris, who was involved apparently in the campaign of Schmitt's opponent, has a different story.

Negative ads must emphasize fairness and accuracy even at the price of having less overt impact. The best negative ad I ever ran was for Jeff Bingaman in his 1982 race to unseat astronaut-turned-Sen. Harrison "Jack" Schmitt.


The ad went as follows: "Do you think we should drill for oil in national parks and wilderness areas? The candidates for Senate disagree. Jack Schmitt says yes, we need the oil. Jeff Bingaman says no, we need to protect our national heritage more. Two good men run for Senate, but they disagree on oil drilling in parks and wilderness areas. So, on Election Day, vote for the one who agrees with you."


The ad appeared so evenhanded — and was so accurate — that it overcame voter distrust and led to an upset victory for Bingaman.

In other words, oil drilling sank Schmitt's political career, not space exploration.

McCain and Obama Clash in Second Debate

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama met in a debate that was advertised as a "town hall format," but was really sanitized to the point of tedium inducing. Both candidates did what they were supposed to do and both failed to do what they had to do.

More evidence that India plans to be the fourth country to put a human in space.

Asteroid 2008 TC3 Streaks Over Africa

A small asteroid, designated 2008 TC3, entered the Earth's atmosphere early Tuesday and vaporized in a spectacular fireball over the African country of Sudan. 2008 TC3 was a small asteroid, measuring about three meters across.

Pundits choose which science fiction stories to read before chosing the next President. Glenn Reynolds has one, but pay attention to the episode of Angel picked by Jonah Goldberg:

An extra-dimensional being (played by Gina Torres) appears on Earth, and everyone who sees her becomes totally devoted to her and starts to worship her. She brings peace and prosperity, and only Angel's friend Fred can see that she's really a hideous monster.

As Goldberg explains it:

In the story, the world is mesmerized by a god from another dimension played by a charismatic black woman who truly does bring universal peace and love to the planet. Her only price: we all must worship her (and provide her with a statistically irrelevant number of humans to eat) and unify around our love for her.
I don't think Obama is evil or a villain of any kind. But the lesson is pretty valid. Obama is the high priest of a cult of unity. Unity can be useful, but it is also very, very dangerous. That's why the founders conceived of a system of divided government, after all.

My own choice. A novel called Avatar, by Poul Anderson, which is about a space ship Captain who, among other things, has to deal with Earth politicians and bureacrats who oppose his quest to open up the stars for human exploration and settlement.

Hollywood--where just seeing the wrong movie, not to mention making the wrong movie, can be a career limiting move.

Kid Rock has cut a pretty cool recruiting video for the National Guard:

Some examples of technology being developed to allow us to live on the Moon. A power converter that will transform the heat from a nuclear reactor to electricity and using microwaves to extract water from lunar soil.

Eagle Eye Movie Review

Eagle Eye is a techno action thriller starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan as two hapless people caught up in a conspiracy so immense and so complex that it quickly strains credulity. Fortunately there are enough car chases and explosions to make one forget all that.

Barack OBama Pulls the Keating Five Card

Barack Obama, stung by criticisms by the John McCain Campaign about his relationship with former terrorist William Ayers, has decided to go negative in turn. The Obama Campaign is starting to hit back with the Keating Five Scandal.

More of the Obama Jugend swear their allegiance to their Leader.

On the other hand, Keith Cowing doesn't think that marching youth, in military dress, swearing allegiance to a charismatic leader should be particularly alarming.

Commercial research on ISS

Remember Samantha Powers, the foreign policy advisor that Obama gave the royal order of the boot for calling Hillary Clinton a "monster." It turns out that Ms. Powers actually advocated, invading Israel to stop the "genocide of the Palestinians."

Obama sure has racked up a long list of scary friends.

Sarah Palin: Barack Obama "Palling Around with Terrorists"

Sarah Palin has recently gone on the attack against Barack Obama, accusing him of "palling around with terrorists", in apparently in reference to Obama's association with William Ayers, an unrepentant Weather Underground terrorist in the 1960s and 1970s.

I suppose a sad commentary on the effects of sex on history.

O. J. Simpson Found Guilty of Armed Robbery, Kidnapping

O. J. Simpson has been found guilty on all charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, in connection to an incident a year ago in Las Vegas in which Simpson and five other men burst into a room at a hotel to recover sports memorabilia at gun point.

Sanctuary Premiers on Sci-Fi Channel TV

Sanctuary, a new series on the Sci-Fi Channel TV network, premiered Friday, October 3rd. The series, staring Stargate: SG1's Amanda Tapping, concerns a group of people who hunt and capture "unusual creatures" in order to help and study them.

Elon Musk, ever ambitious, wants to sell NASA a lunar cargo service. I hope that a deal can be worked out.

Apparently Jewel of Medina, the romance novel about Mohammed's wife Aisha, is coming out Monday in the US, thanks to Beaufort Books.

The on again off again Red Mars miniseries project may be on again.

I always have a soft spot in my heart for the Steven Segal action flick, Under Siege, in which Segal, as cook/Navy SEAL Casey Ryback confronts a gang of terrorists who seize the USS Missouri on her way home from the Gulf War and then make them wish they hadn't. The second movie, set on a train, was somewhat forgettable. But it seems that Segal is interested in a third go around, this time fighting aliens.

Bill O'Reilly and Barney Frank Have Screaming Match on O'Reilly Factor

Bill O'Reilly and Congressman Barney Frank had a screaming match on the O'Reilly Factor Thursday night, October 2nd, over Frank's share of the responsibility for the liquidity crisis. O'Reilly was all Irish rage. Frank was snooty, north eastern, liberal contempt.

Sarah Palin takes Joe Biden in Vice Presidential Debate

Sarah Palin walked out on the stage, smiling, self confident and shook hands with Joe Biden. "Nice to meet you...May I call you Joe?" It was sweet, disarming and without even a hint of menace of what was to come. Poor Joe Biden. He never knew what hit him.

Joe Biden's 14 Lies.

Slso, this about a eatery that no longer exists.

Virgin Galactic has passed on the opportunity to host the filming of the first micro gravity sex video. No word as of yet whether Paris Hilton or Britney Spears was involved in the deal.

The sequel to 300 will take place at the Battle of Plataea, a year after Thermopylae and Salamis in which the Greeks shattered the Persian Army in 479 BC.

Senate Bailout Bill: Wooden Arrows, Rum and Pork

In struggling with the liquidity crisis, the United States Senate seems to have found that it goes beyond banks, investment firms, and even generally small business. It seems that, among others, the manufacturers of wooden arrows for children were in peril.

Failures of the Presidents

Obama Kids Video Creepy

It's called the Obama Kids Video and it as creepy and off putting as one of those displays in a communist country where battalions of school children sing praises to the leader of the regime. North Korea has pioneered this kind of display. Indeed, viewers of the Olympics recently saw this sort of thing on display during the opening ceremonies.

Senate Bailout Bill Has Tax Cuts

If it was Nancy Pelosi's purpose to blow up the bailout bill during her partisan speech during the House floor debate, she may be having regrets. The Senate bailout bill will contain some tax cuts that House Democrats have so far blocked, according to Fox News.

Debate Moderator Gwen Ifill Has a Conflict of Interest

The upcoming debate between Vice Presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden hasn't even occurred yet and it already has its first controversy. It seems that Gwen Ifill, the PBS reporter who will moderate the debate is in the tank for Barack Obama.