Keith Cowing, in his usual dishonest way, quotes from the Houston Chronicle editorial endorsing Lizzie Fletcher without providing any context. However, Tom Matula, in the comments, has some interesting information:
...but it’s also a matter of someone making a case out of an issue beyond his control. The Addicks and Barker Dams were built by the U.S. Army Corps of engineers in the 1940’s to prevent Buffalo Bayou from flooding the city of Houston. Both were located in an area of woodlands/meadows and intended to hold the water there to allow a slower controlled release during heavy rain events. Then about 20 years ago the county allowed developers to start building expensive housing in the “beautiful” and “natural” setting. When Hurricane Harvey hit the dams did there job holding the bulk of the water and only allowing some to flood the woodlands downstream. Only now of some that woodland held new housing developments.
So I am not sure what he could have done other then pass a Federal Law preventing folks from building on flood plains. He did get flood aid for them afterward. But as Forest Gump says “Stupid is what stupid does.” What is funny is his opponent works for a law firm known for representing local developers. It’s interesting to note they are just parroting Ms. Fletcher’s campaign line.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
The great war against the Dark Magus was over. But Merien, a wizard who had played a key role in the final battle, still had nightmares about what he had experienced. Even during the day he found himself shaking with dread with no reason and sometimes even crying in the corner of the farm where he lived. Merien has warrior’s heart, a great wound of the mind and spirit. He must set forth in the company of his best friend, an elf warrior, to find a cure before it is too late.
Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) is the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees NASA and other science agencies, such as the National Science Foundation. Culberson is facing a stiff challenge for reelection by a Democratic lawyer named Lizzie Fletcher. These two facts have created an issue involving Culberson’s support for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, currently under construction at the tip of South America.
Monday, October 29, 2018
Sunday, October 28, 2018
On a December day in 1967, a pilot whose jet fighter is in the process of cracking up ejects a moment sooner and therefore lives when he otherwise might have died. A life that would have ended on the tarmac at Edwards Air Force Base continues on. Six years later, Major Robert Lawrence, United States Air Force, becomes the first black American to walk on the Moon.
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Friday, October 26, 2018
The space program has not become an issue in the race for the U.S. Senate in Texas between the incumbent, Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, and his opponent, Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, the Democratic challenger.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Vice President Trump, speaking at a meeting of the National Space Council, has declared that by next year we will have a National Space Force. What I have written about the subject in the past:
The case for a new branch of the military: United States Space Force
What would the mission of the United States Space Force be?
July, 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 has triumphantly returned to Earth. In this alternate history thriller, President Richard Nixon puts into a motion a scheme to ramp up the space race to pressure the Soviets into making diplomatic and military concessions. Thus begins a story of high adventure on the final frontier and of low intrigue in the corridors of power back on Earth. It will prove to be the fulfillment of a dream for Wendy Pendleton to be the first woman to walk on the moon. It will be a nightmare for Cal Lauren, a political operative determined to stop the space race at all costs to fund the social programs he holds dear.
Monday, October 22, 2018
In 1944, with the world convulsed with war, the Contessa Gabriella Doria haunts the piazzas and canals of Venice. Few people know that she is not only an agent for Britain’s MI6 but that she is also a 450 year old vampire. But one SS officer, Kurt Hesselman, knows and has vowed to destroy her, using the occult powers he was born with. Their battle will rage from Gabriella’s beloved Venice to occupied France, and hence to Great Britain on the eve of the largest sea borne invasion in history. The outcome of the war and the fate of the world will hang in the balance
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Saturday, October 20, 2018
The Last Moonwalker – In the near future, as human explorers prepare to take the first voyage to the Moon in decades, Charles Gerald, the last Apollo Moonwalker, lends his advice to the crew of the expedition as he wrestles with his own legacy.
The Man from Mars: The Asteroid Mining Caper - Colin Fraser was the first man to walk on Mars as commander of the Ares. But little did he know that his greatest adventure would take place after he returned to Earth from the Red Planet. With further voyages of interplanetary exploration curtailed due to budget cuts, Fraser joined a private company that proposed to capture an asteroid and mine it for its almost limitless wealth. The only catch was that he would have to commit the first act of space piracy in history by stealing his old ship and using it to divert the asteroid named Daedalus.
Stealing the ship, diverting the asteroid, and avoiding federal prison or destruction will be the least of Fraser’s worries, however.
Friday, October 19, 2018
Venus, the second planet from the sun, seems like the last place one would want to send human beings. The surface of the cloud-shrouded planet is a hellscape.
Thursday, October 18, 2018
July, 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 has triumphantly returned to Earth. In this alternate history thriller, President Richard Nixon puts into a motion a scheme to ramp up the space race to pressure the Soviets into making diplomatic and military concessions. Thus begins a story of high adventure on the final frontier and of low intrigue in the corridors of power back on Earth.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
On a December day in 1967, a pilot whose jet fighter is in the process of cracking up ejects a moment sooner and therefore lives when he otherwise might have died. A life that would have ended on the tarmac at Edwards Air Force Base continues on. Six years later, Major Robert Lawrence, United States Air Force, becomes the first black American to walk on the Moon.
Monday, October 15, 2018
In such a future, where China establishes space dominance, it is likely that we will see the establishment of China-driven “specially managed zones” and China-led adjudication courts to settle disputes. It is highly likely that China will establish dispute mechanisms for space once it establishes “specially managed zones,” say on the lunar surface, or establishes a permanent space presence. That has been the trajectory of its international initiatives here on earth, to include its behavior in the Antarctic.
Imperialism
SpaceIL's spacecraft in a series of environmental tests on its way to th...
Israel shoots for the moon.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Saturday, October 13, 2018
Friday, October 12, 2018
NASA and the Roscosmos, the Russian state enterprise that handles spaceflight for that country, now has a big problem on their hands.
A Soyuz spacecraft headed for the International Space Station experienced a launch failure early Thursday. The good news is that the two passengers, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin have landed safe and have been picked up by a search and rescue helicopter. The bad news is that there is now no reliable means of taking crew to and from the ISS.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
However, a way may be found to do both. The Europa Clipper and Europa Lander are envisioned to be launched to Jupiter space by NASA’s planned heavy-lift Space Launch System. The SLS will be able to lob huge payloads toward Jupiter on a direct flight path, avoiding the time-consuming gravity assist maneuvers that previous probes to the outer planets have had to use.
The problem with the Space Launch System is that it is a fully expendable rocket that could cost between $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion to launch. NASA is struggling to make the SLS more affordable to operate, but the sad fact is that using the heavy-lift rocket is a great expense for the missions to Europa. NASA does have the option of using a commercial rocket, say the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, to launch the twin missions to Europa.
Tuesday, October 09, 2018
July, 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 has triumphantly returned to Earth. In this alternate history thriller, President Richard Nixon puts into a motion a scheme to ramp up the space race to pressure the Soviets into making diplomatic and military concessions. Thus begins a story of high adventure on the final frontier and of low intrigue in the corridors of power back on Earth. It will prove to be the fulfillment of a dream for Wendy Pendleton to be the first woman to walk on the moon. It will be a nightmare for Cal Lauren, a political operative determined to stop the space race at all costs to fund the social programs he holds dear. A science fiction alternate history like none other.
Monday, October 08, 2018
Sunday, October 07, 2018
Saturday, October 06, 2018
Friday, October 05, 2018
Will Israel become the next deep space exploration super power? Because of a private expedition to the moon, some are thinking about the possibility of the Jewish state joining the United States, Russia, China, India, and other countries in the exploration of space.
Thursday, October 04, 2018
Wednesday, October 03, 2018
Tuesday, October 02, 2018
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine recently suggested that the space agency seek corporate sponsorships to help augment the meager appropriations Congress grants it to do everything from exploring the solar system to operating the International Space Station. Ideas range from selling naming rights to spacecraft to allowing astronauts to endorse products in exchange for advertising fees.
or what if Major Robert Lawrence had lived?
Monday, October 01, 2018
One of the most astonishing political developments of the 2018 midterm elections is the race between Rep. Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, a Democrat, and Sen. Ted Cruz, the Republican incumbent, for a United States Senate seat in Texas. While O’Rourke has never led Cruz in any poll, he has been unexpectedly close in some, especially considering that Texas is a deep red state. O’Rourke has been as close as one point in the Emerson Poll, but the most recent poll performed by Quinnipiac has him nine points back. Nevertheless, Real Clear Politics has judged the race a tossup.