Maybe this is why Gore has decided not to run. But I should offer a warning, in a paraphrase of the old saying: Politics is easy; comedy is hard. And that is especially true if you are trying to do the latter deliberately.

Looks like Al Gore has concluded that he can't win in 2004 and therefore has decided not to try. So as of right now it looks like Kerry as the favorite of the old time liberals and Lieberman as the candidate for the centrist New Democrats.

Thirty years ago this day, the last man to walk on the Moon departed from the Moon. That fact, and the reality that it has been thirty years, is a blot on human civilization. To understand why, one must remember what was happening in 1972. The nation which had so ernestly taken up the challenge of the Moon was reeling from the twin tempests of Vietnam and the social unrest of the 1960s. Politicians and other opinion leaders told us to turn away from the promise of the High Frontier of space, to turn inwards, or in the words of one Presidential candidate, "Come home, America."

And we pretty much did.

Yet, we've recovered from all of that. We are the nation which won the Cold War and is now winning the War in Terror. We have gotten our spirit back, mainly by living an American Iliad which has changed the face of the world for the better; it is still changing it.

The time has long since come for an American Oddysey. The time has come for us to return to the Moon and to reclaim the promise of Apollo. It is nothing less than the promise of the next leap in human evolution, to end forever the time when the human species is limited to one, fragile world.

If not now, when? If not us, who?

Daschle has apparently learned nothing from the last election.

Barbara Morgan is finally going to get to fly in space next year. In my opinion it's about fifteen years overdue.

Amazon Canada reports a sudden surge of sales of Children of Apollo up north. Thanks, guys. Keep it up. It's a good, thought provoking read.

Is it just me, or does anyone get the impression that if Trent Lott promised to be pubicly whipped as a penance for his remarks about Strom Thurmond, in the same way King Henry II was whipped for causing the death of Thomas Beckett, that there are certain people who would say it still wasn't enough.

Trent is probably toast, mainly because he doesn't have oodles of good will in any case. I have personally wanted him replaced ever since he botched the Senate trial of Bill Clinton. The irony, of course, is that other Senators who have done far worse-Teddy Kennedy comes to mind-will likely die in the Senate. Now that's a feat which Strom failed at, no matter how long he tried to accomplish it.

Condi, Warrior Princess, has told Red China's Lt. General Xiong Guankai that threatening to nuke Los Angeles and invade Tawain is not acceptable behavior. This much needed message, as far as we know, was never conveyed by anyone in the Clinton Administration.

The usual suspects in Hollywood have signed a letter asking the President to keep our hands off of Saddem Hussein. This letter is not really meant to influence anyone, since I suspect even these actors know that no one in the White House is going to listen to them. It's meant for the signers, including the feckless Mike Farrell, to feel good about themselves. Farrell was asked, I think by Bill O'Reilly, what should be done if Saddem obstructs the UN arms inspecters. After hemming and hawing, Farrell said something about, "Enforced inspections." I'm not sure that he knows that means invading Iraq with troops and shooting Iraqis if they resist.

In the meantime, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Arnold, and even usually left leaning Harrison Ford, support the ouster of Saddem. As Ms. Whittington points out, the President is supported by all the manly men in Hollywood.

Pete Dupont looks at various new forms of energy, including space based solar power.

Then again, Drudge is reporting that this isn't the first time Lott opened his mouth without engaging his brain first.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist anyone?

The Trent Lott Affair, the fury of which is matched only by it's triviality, is now threatening Tom Daschle. Seriously.

Speaking of movies, we saw The Emperor's Club recently and I cannot recommend this film enough. It's about a teacher, played by Kevin Kline, at a private boy's school who actually believes that one can learn the right way to live by studying the lives of the great men of history, ancient Greeks and Romans to be exact. His belief is tested by a young student who seems destined to be a Bill Clinton type, believing that charecter does not matter, only winning does. The story is uplifting and wonderful.

According to Done Deal, the fourth Mad Max movie has finally been greenlighted, with Mel Gibson reprising his signature role. Budget is rumored to be in excess of $100 million.

Trent Lott has apologized for his stupid remarks about Stom Thurmond and it ought to be the end of it. It's not the end of it, however, for Al Gore. Gore, whose father was a segregationist, wants the Senate to censure Lott. Of course Gore also opposed any kind of punishment for Bill Clinton.

More on the reinvention of Battlestar Galactica. Sounds very interesting, though I can already hear the howls of rage in certain quarters.

Calls for Trent Lott to resign just because he said some damn fool think about the country maybe being better off if Strom Thurmond had been elected on the Dixicrat ticket in 1948 strike me as very silly. Does any serious person think that Lott really wants to roll back civil rights and bring back Jim Crow? If every politician who said something foolish were given the royal order of the boot for saying something idiotic, then there would be no one in public office.

Of course Lott should resign anyway, at least as Majority Leader, for the simple reason that his leadership has been feckless and weak.

Here is an excellent reason why the title of "Last Man on the Moon" should be taken away from Gene Cernan, the sooner the better.

The Last Man on the Moon really wishes, after thirty years, that he was not the last man on the Moon.

Earlier I mentioned that the one thing different in the Spielberg miniseries on the SCIFI Channel, Taken, which is about UFOsand alien abductions, is that the head of the evil government conspiracy does not smoke. I've been informed by several people that by the second episode, he starts to smoke like a train. Well, of course.

It's not just right wingers who think that Hollywood is corrupting the morals of people who watch movies. It seems that some of your favorite movies, like Star Wars, are teaching you to tolerate genocide on a planetary scale.

Astronaut Bill Shepherd, the first commander of the International Space Station, has a lot to say.

Here's an account of an event which, in living memory, was science fiction by a beloved writer of science fiction, Anne McCaffrey:

The Launch, yes - well, we know how it goes, with clouds of smoke from the rear of the ship and then it slowly lifts from the gantry and up into the sky - but one doesn't see the plume of flame rising as well, or see the water of the lagoon bounce with the noise and shock wave. That's the real surprise...and the beauty of it all. I could stand seeing a launch every week, just to revive my spirit. It's simply amazing.

I was very tempted to stay on and see the landing but I knew I had to get back so I resisted. While in Florida (hot and sultry) we could watch what was going on and see lots of Pam (that is, Colonel Melroy, the pilot, whose guest I was at the Launch) on the Nasa channel. She was checking off the various tasks of the EVAs and keeping them current so the camera on her was called the Pam Cam! She comes over very well. I left her a hard cover lst edition of White Dragon, suitably inscribed, to trade for the copy she had taken with her on this trip. Yes, the White Dragon has been in space!

My thanks to Chantal for passing this one along.

Another one of John Kerry's not well thought out ideas is an "Apollo project" to create "green" renewable energy. A interesting idea, but with problems. First, the private market is working on that anyway. There are private companies which are right now working on fuel cells, residential solar power units, and wind mill farms. Second, it has been my experience that greenies like certain technologies in the abstract until they become reality, at which time they turn of them. A great example is the idea of wind mill farms. There's one in California that's had to shut down because environmental extremists believe that birds fly into them.

However, in the spirit of being positive and not just critical, here's my idea for a real "Apollo Project" for clean energy. Let's go back to the Moon and learn to use lunar materials to build space solar power stations. Let's also ramp up R&D on fusion so that one day we can use lunar Helium 3 as a power source. The Moon could be the Saudi Arabia of this century and the best thing about that is that it won't be overrun with Wahhabi fanatics.

Of course, if we do this, rest assure that environmental extremists are going to go berserk over the idea of space solar power stations microwaving birds and bees.

Will Smith may be making a big screen version of Asimov's I Robot, even though the plot line looks more like Caves of Steel.

Here's a rundown of the revival of Battlestar Galactica, one of my favorite space shootemups from the late 70s. Of course a female Starbuck is going to take getting used to.

God and the courts willing, McCain-Feingold has begun it's death spiral.

Speaking of social security one of the rarely reported aspects of Election 2002 is the number of GOP candidates such as John Sununu the Younger and Elizabeth Dole who won their elections on the proposition of allowing people to invest their social security taxes in stocks and bond. This proposition is surprisingly popular, considering recent stock market turmoil, among the growing investor class who recognize the long term value of investment. I suspect JF Kerry's plan is part of an effort to forestall this idea from becoming reality.

John F. Kerry has denounced the Bush tax cuts as being evil.

''The largest cost of the Bush tax giveaway will not be borne by any of us here today it will be paid for by our children. We're borrowing from Social Security and Medicare to put money in our pockets today and sticking our children with the bill.''

However, Kerry's main tax proposal is to cut social security taxes for the poor which will-well-drain money from social security.

A Vanderbilt University professor. whose personal hero is Che Guevara, thinks that everyone who fought for the Confederacy should have swung from the end of a rope. He also compares southern heritage organizations to holocaust revisionists and at least one Confederate General to Adolf Hitler.

I also just finished reading Ruled Britannia by Harry Turtledove and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is ten years after the Armada has conquered England and brought her under the merciless heel of Spain. But one man is England's hope for a new birth of freedom. His name is William Shakespeare.

I saw the first installment of Spielberg's epic miniseries about UFOs and alien abductions, Taken on the Sci Fi channel. I must say it was a huge disappointment. There was nothing on the show that one hasn't seen on the X Files innumerable times. The only thing different is that the guy running the secret, evil government conspiracy doesn't smoke. Spielberg did a much better job on the subject over twenty years ago with Close Encounters and ET.

Looks like John F. Kerry is about to apply for the job of the latest second coming of John F. Kennedy. He will, doubtless, become the second coming of Michael Dukakkis instead.

Well, once again the holidays are upon us. I have a humble suggestion for a couple of gifts. Children of Apollo is my alternate history novel set against the backdrop of a slightly different space program of the early 1970s. It is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or wherever fine books are sold.

We also have Nocturne: A Novel of Suspense, our spy thriller set in Venice during the closing years of the Cold War. It is also available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or wherever fine books are sold.

Hollywood is ready to embrace the historical epic again. As I grew up on such films as Lawrence of Arabia, Ben Hur, and Spartacus, I find this prospect delightful.

Religious fanatics want to take away your right to choose. In this case it is your right to choose which vehicle to drive.

Of course this whole business of "what Jesus would drive" is a rather stupid one. A single, male, carpenter living in a small town would likely today drive a pick up truck. The same man, having decided to become an iternerate preacher with twelve disciples, would need a bus to get around in.

Looks like TransOrbital may get that private mission to the Moon off the ground.

At least one lab in Switzerland thinks the latest Bin Laden tape is a fake. Suits me just fine. I want him to be burning in Hell at this moment.

Peggy Noonan tells Tom Daschle to stand up and be a man.

Check out the Apollo Maniacs site, done in English by a person from Japan.

The aid to the Canadian Prime Minister who called President Bush a "moron" has resigned. Meanwhile, having not understood the lesson, another anti American Canadian pol has called the President an "idiot."

Done Deal reports that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six is now in development for a film. Now here's my question. Will the film keep as terrorist bad guys the environmentalist wackos as depicted in the book? Or will the film use instead right wing militia types, aided and abbetted by Central European neo fascists?

The Fox Opinion Dynamics Poll indicates that if an election were held to day, GW Bush would beat either Al Gore or Bill Clinton by two to one.

The Bush twins. Jenna and Barbara, are now 21 and therefore can drink legally. Bush hating scandal mongers are in mourning. Happy birthday, ladies.

While Tom Daschle has fantasies about imaginary threats from Rush Linmbaugh fans, here's one Democrat making real threats. Mary, Mary, don't you know that words have consequences?

Micheal Kelly refers to Yeats in trying to explain the perpetual embaressment which is Al Gore.

Ever since the wreck of the Exxon-Valdez (and probably before) Exxon (later Exxon-Mobil after the merger) has been the target for environmentalist wackos. In response, the neferious corporate managers at Exxon have been pouring money into various conservation causes to try to stave off this kind of criticism. Looks like efforts to preserve the tiger. a well known corporate symbol of Exxon-Mobil, has started to have some effect.

There are, of course, many Canadians who are not knee jerk anti-Americans. Indeed, when we were up there some years ago for a friend's wedding, the only criticism we got was a mild question: "What's up with this Clinton, eh?"

Rand Simberg turns a gimlet eye toward the horrible situation regarding space launches. However, in the spirit of offering solutions, which I think Rand fails to do, allow me to suggest the following:

(1) That NASA, DOD, and any other government entity involved in space flight use their activities to create markets for private businesses. These would include assembling spacecraft for beyond LEO exploration, resupplying the space station (and that means of course that this planned Orbital Space Plane as well as the space shuttle needs to be commercial), building a space based missile defense, and building a space based air traffic control system.

(2) NASA should continue basic research and development into space access technologies, but not with a view of building it's own "next space shuttle", but rather as a means of facilitating a commercial launch industry.

President Bush is driving certain members of the Canadian government crazy by telling them things that they ought to know without being told.

Done Deal is reporting that a live action/CGI film staring Garfield the Cat is in development. Just what is needed.

For some reason, Europeans use the term cowboy as an insult. That only goes to show how utterly clueless they are about real cowboys.

Tom Daschle, proving that he's ready to be taken away by men in white coats, says that Rush Limbaugh and his listeners are really out to get him.

Having turned his coat once, Jumping Jimmy Jeffords wants to do it again and rejoin the GOP. So far Trent and co are unwilling to say, "Come on back; all is forgiven."

Apparently Senator Bill Nelson (D) Florida gave Sean O'Keefe the back of his hand on the Senate floor for "mixing politics with NASA." This coming from a man who used his office to get a free ride on the space shuttle at public expense.

A really cheap access to space update. A private company is raising money to build a space elevator test prototype.

Over on The Corner Jonah Goldberg told this story:

A man arrived at the Pearly Gates with his dog and was told, "You may enter, but dogs are not allowed." The man declined to enter because he couldn't leave his dog behind. He wandered down the road and eventually came to another set of Pearly Gates. The gatekeeper invited him to come in. The man replied that he wouldn't enter without his dog. The gatekeeper told him that his dog was certainly welcome to enter also. The man said, "But the fellow at the other gate up the road said dogs weren't allowed". To which the gatekeeper replied, "Oh, that was actually the gate to hell and you were being screened. Anyone who would leave his dog behind doesn't deserve to enter heaven".

I had to admonish him with the following:

Jonah - Admit it. You stole that story about the man, his dog, and the Pearly Gates from an old Twilight Zone episode. You did this and, despite being known as someone who uses allusions to popular SF, did not attribute this. For shame.

Apparently I was not the only one, as Jonah responded later:

I have now been told by 8 billion, seven-hundred and eighteen people that the dog story I posted yesterday was actually the plot to a Twilight Zone episode, "The Hunt." Now, am I terribly, terribly, terribly embarrassed for not knowing this? Yes, yes I am. I didn't think there were any TZ's I hadn't seen. Maybe I did see it. Maybe I don't remember. Regardless, I apologize. Oh, and you may be wondering how more people than currently exist on planet Earth could correct my mistake. Well, we are talking about the Twilight Zone here.

A likely story IMHO.

Saint John McCain has decided to support Democrat efforts to strip protection from law suits for vaccine manufacturers in the Homeland Defense Bill.

McCain, long an opponent of using legislation to satisfy special interests, said he would support the Democratic amendment.

Of course, by opposing these provisions, McCain is-in effect-supporting another special interest. Trial lawyers.

Mace Neufeld proposes to produce a film about the Battle of Mazar E Sharif, which involved the first cavalry charge the US Army conducted in the 21st Century, the first I suspect in a hundred years.

Jason Riley thinks he knows the one man who can send Osama to Hell permenently.

Thomas L. James tells us what he likes-and does not like-about the Commision on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry's recommendations.

Morgan Freeman may have at last found a big studio to help him make the film version of Rendeavouz with Rama.

The Commision on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry has issued its final report. The nine recommendations in the report:

1. The United States boldly pioneer new frontiers in aerospace technology, commerce, and exploration.

2. Transformation of the U.S. air transportation system be a national priority.

3. The United States create a space imperative.

4. The nation adopt a policy that invigorates and sustains the aerospace industrial base.

5. The federal government establish a national aerospace policy and promote aerospace by creating a government-wide management structure.

6. U.S. and multilateral regulations and policies be reformed to enable the movement of products and capital across international borders on a fully competitive basis and establish a level playing field for U.S. industry in the global marketplace.

7. A new business model be designed to promote a healthy and growing U.S. aerospace industry.

8. The nation immediately reverse the decline in and promote the growth of a scientifically and technologically trained U.S. aerospace workforce.

9. The federal government significantly increase its investment in basic aerospace research in order to enhance U.S. national security, enable breakthrough capabilities, and foster an efficient, secure, and safe aerospace transportation system.

More anon when we have read and digested the thing.

George Stephanapoulos may not be far behind. I told you all that he was a bad choice for This Week. My suggestion is to give it to George Will, one of the few people on TV who is interesting to listen to.

Looks like MSNBC is giving Phil Donahue the axe.

Someone is having a little fun at the expense of NASA. Thanks to David Finday over at the space policy news group for pointing this one out.

The Democrats persist in drinking the kool aid, this time by keeping one of the most hapless DNC Chairmen in history. Some free advice, my Democrat friends. When a leader leads you to disaster, get rid of them.

We saw, of course, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and found it to be just as wonderful as the first film and indeed as the books. For all those who haven't seen it yet, we suggest staying through the ending credits.

And, we give the back of our hand to all of those who think Harry is the devil incarnant. Get a life, you fools.

David Frum, one of Canada's better quality exports to the United States, counts the hidden costs of Al Gore's proposal for a Canadian style health care system. They include unncessary pain, suffering, and death. So if Al Gore is the nominee in 2004, perhaps we can legitimently say that Democrats want you to die in agony,.

Al Gore is the latest Democrat to drink the kool aid.

Priscella Owen, one of the Bush judicial nominees to be borked by the Democrats, will be the first to get a second chance now that the GOP has the Senate.

Nancy Pelosi, the Boudicca of extreme left wing Democrat politics, is now officially House Minority Leader. Let the games begin.

Clone Wars: The Animated Series.

George Will says that the Democrat Party is the party of recycling; recycled campaigns, recycled ideas, recycled Senators, and even recycled vendettas.

A Basement Full of Books is a neat site where one can buy books directly from their authors.

Done Deal is reporting yet another Crusades movie, called Warriors of God, focusing on Richard Lion Heart and Saladin.

The official Children of Apollo Wall Calendar is now available, along with other fine products, at the Children of Apollo Store. And of course the novel, Children of Apollo makes an excellent Holliday gift.

According to Done Deal, Halle Berry's charecter in Die Another Day will have her own spin off movie.

The development of the orbital space plane might be a leap in the art of space travel, but only if it is commercially operated and available for commercial as well as NASA markets.

One of the unsung victories of last Tuesday, Oregon voted down by 4 to 1 a measure to institute a state wide socialistic health care system.

Here's an interesting piece on the TV series John Doe, one of the best dramas you might not have seen.

Howard McCurdy suggests that we may see a big, new space initiative from GW Bush around-say-2004. He suggests that Presidents facing reelection tend to propose new space projects, citing as examples Nixon and the space shuttle in 1972 and Reagan and the space station in 1984. It might be more accurate to say that Republican Presidents tend to do this, partly because they tend to run against Democrats who oppose space spending. McGovern in 1972 and Mondale in 1984. Democrats who are up for reelection, Carter in 1980, Clinton in 1996, and even LBJ in 1968, tend to ignore space issues.

Actually, if we believe Paul Spudis that we could have people on the Moon in five years, it might be politically smart for Dubya to make an announcement next year, say a few weeks after Iraq is liberated. That places a return to the Moon in 2008, just in time for Bush's successor to crow about it while running for election.

Jonah Goldberg casts an ammused eye upon our neurotic neighbors to the north.

Tom Daschle and Democrats who think as he does seem to resemble the Bourbons after the fall of Napoleon. They have forgotten nothing and have learned nothing.

George Will observes that opponents of school choice are now resorting to using laws which stemmed from 19th Century anti-Catholic bigotry. Those laws may soon be overturned by the Supreme Court,

I've added some books on what I call the American Iliad on the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Site. Check them out. More will be added as time permits.

David Hogberg points out that the oldy by goody, scaring seniors about social security, failed last Tuesday.

Rumor has it, according to Fox's Tony Snow, that Tom Daschle may not run when he's up again in 2004.

Rand Simberg has an interesting take on how the take over of Congress might affect space policy.

I believe him to be wrong, by the way, in suggesting that expeditions to the Moon and beyond constitute a "fantasy." The sudden talk about such things is no accident, but rather is the Bush Administration's attempt to get the discussion going in public previous to making key decisions. I believe that the younger Bush has concluded that one of the mistakes the elder Bush made was to suddenly spring the idea of sending humans beyond LEO from out of the blue, allowing opponents to systematicly pick it apart.

Refocusing NASA to cutting edge space exploration does two things. First, it gets NASA out of the spacetrucking business. Coupling a new program of exploration with privitizating the space shuttle and the space station throws open space travel to and from LEO to private sector competition.

Second, the sort of program being talked about is a potentially huge market for a commercial launch industry. NASA seems to be more comfortable with assembling lunar and interplanetary space craft out of small pieces than with building a super heavy lift vehicle like the Saturn V. This is in some ways a throw back to the Earth Orbit Rendeavouz concept first proposed by Von Braun. It also is an enormous opportunity for private launch companies for launch contracts. Assembling spacecraft, as well as crew rotation and resupply of the space station, building a space based missile defense system, and building a space based air traffic control system could combined be the air mail delivery of the 21st Century that jump starts a private laiunch industry which in turn would bring down the cost of space travel, opening up not only Low Earth Orbit, but beyond, to the rest of us.

Looks like Dick Gephardt is a casualty of last night's victory. He will step down as House Minority Leader. He will likely be replaced by Nancy Pelosi, a hard left winger who opposed war with Iraq.

I should hope, but knowing liberals would not expect, that we would have no more talk about GW Bush as the dim, doofus, clueless fratboy. If Clinton was the Napoleon of politics, surely the President is the Wellington. And boy did he inflict upon the Democrats a masterfull Waterloo. 2002 will go down in history, along with 1994 and 1980, as years when the electorate repudiated liberalism and all of its works.

More important, the people rejected the Clinton-Daschle-McAuliffe style of slash and burn, cheating, win at all cost politics. Not that the Democrats have a clue of that. My suspician is that they'll conclude that they haven't been liberal enough. This will make 2004 very entertaining as we'll see candidates compete with one another over who can be the most radical left. My suggestion to the Dems is if they choose to go that route, go ahead and nominate Al Sharpton and get it over with.

Dick Morris, who predicted GOP losses for 2002, says that-well-yes Bush won last night, but he'd better watch out for 2004.

I woke up this morning to find out that after all it wasn't a dream. And the icing on the sweetest of victories-Mondale lost in Minnesotta.

Looks like a GOP romp. House, Senate, all. It is a glorious victory and President Bush bestrides the land like a colossus.

Glenn Reynolds has passed along a message about Andre Norton, the classic S-F writer. I urge everyone to read it and act accordingly.

NASA's efforts to get control of the costs of the International Space Station appear to have been met with complete success. This is a vital first step toward other things, like pushing beyond Low Earth Orbit.

Aintitcool is reporting that Alex Kingston ("ER") will play the title role in BOUDICA about the long-ago British queen who led a bloody rebellion against the Roman occupation.

Just saw the Coleman-Mondale debate and here are some initial impressions. A Lot of people expected Mondale to be old and tired. Instead he was old and cranky, assuming a patronizing tone, rolling out all of the liberal oldies but goodies that he feels have served him well over the years. Coleman was very calm and competent, having none of Mondale's treating him like a little boy.

I'm not sure that independents in Minnesotta, of the sort who elected Jesse the Body as Governor, will be very impressed by either Mondale's tone or his substance. I give the debate to Coleman on points.

Check out the following Alternative History book page. The site also has links to straight S-F and Fantasy.

Here's an idea for real cheap access to space.