Fred Barnes says that the upcoming crop of GOP Presidential candidates, as opposed to the young lions in the Congress and the state houses, are a little dull--with one obvious exception.

Dwayne Day discusses an odd partnership between the Apollo program and the NRO in Black Apollo. Lou Friedman writes about the state of robotic exploration. Space colonization in three histories of the future by John Hickman. Largely because of the incompetence of the Obama administration in its trashing of NASA, the space agency faces an extended limbo.

Sarah Palin Admonishes Barack Obama on Wikileaks

In a post on her Facebook page, Sarah Palin admonishes Barack Obama for the latest Wikileaks disaster. The latest revelations involves some embarrassing and potentially harmful things that the U.S. State Department wanted to keep secret.

Speaking of Sarah Palin, We stood in line for three hours fifteen minutes at the Sarah Palin book signing. But it was worth it to look history in the face and touch her hand, along with the signed books.

She also said Chantal, my wife's name, was a lovely name. A woman of rare discernment.

We were also both interviewed in line for KPRC Channel 2 News. I will post if video of that is located.

'Dexter' Season 5 Episode 10 'In the Beginning'

.In "Dexter" Season 5 Episode 10 "In the Beginning" Dexter prepares for the final phase of his and Lumen's cat-and-mouse game with Jordan Chase, the murderous self-help guru who helps people rape and torture women to death.

'Sarah Palin's Alaska' -- 'Salmon Run'

On "Sarah Palin's Alaska," "Salmon Run" we see the extended family journey to Bristol Bay to do some salmon fishing. We also get to meet Track Palin, the eldest son, home from the War in Iraq and keen to take up a career as captain of his own boat.

'The Walking Dead' Season 1 Episode 5 'Wildfire'

In "The Walking Dead" Season 1 Episode 5 "Wildfire," the group of survivors is still reeling from the effects of the zombie attack. Andrea, for instance, is still on her knees, mourning her dead sister Amy.

Leslie Nielsen of 'Forbidden Planet', 'The Naked Gun,' 'Airplane!' Passes Away

e Nielsen has died at the age of 84 from complications of pneumonia. Nielsen is best known for his comic acting, something he arrived at in later years. But once he was better known for more serious roles.

'America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag' by Sarah Palin - a Review

Sarah Palin's "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag" is a love letter to the three things she seems to adore best; her family, God, and the United States of America (Alaska being an extra special place.)

One of the arguments against a Sarah Palin Presidential candidacy is that she is so controversial that she is bound to lose against Obama. However here is an argument that this is a feature and not a bug.

Nothing and no one brings out the worst in the Democratic Party, in the liberal media, entertainment and academic establishments, and in the left-wing blogosphere, as does Sarah Palin. Bringing out this worst may be the path to a lasting, generational conservative victory.

Maybe this is the battle which needs to be joined, once and for all.

Also Fear Factor: Sarah Palin and 2012

Tony Blair and Christopher Hitchens Debate -- 'Is Religion a Force for Good?'

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and author Christopher Hitchens recentlyconducted a debate before an audience of 2700 in Toronto, Canada over the proposition: Is Religion a Force for Good?

Did Ma Bell Delay the Information Revolution by Decades?

Did a decision by AT&T to suppress an early version of a telephone answering machine in 1934 delay the onset of the information technology revolution by sixty years? If one believes a recent story in Gizmodo, that may well have been the case.

Taylor Dinerman warns of a ballistic missile threat against US Navy carriers.

Another conservative attack on Obamaspace

Since the last Apollo mission in the 1970s, our space exploration program has focused on low Earth orbit. The United States needs to get back into the business of looking farther into outer space. We need to develop a heavy lift launch capability. But NASA cannot do this job if the President’s foresight is so weak and unimaginative. President John F. Kennedy focused the nation on a bold vision that captured the American imagination. Obama would do well to follow his example.

A failure of vision has real costs. Much of the advancement and growth in the economy the past three decades have their roots in the space program. Transistors, circuit boards, computerization and miniaturization technologies were all advanced at unprecedented rates by the space program, not to mention the marketability of Tang or Ziploc bags. Ask yourself, what would have happened had Queen Isabella turned Christopher Columbus down and refused to fund exploration to find alternative trade routes to the East? What would have happened if Sir Francis Drake or Ferdinand Magellan had not been sent out to explore? What if President Thomas Jefferson had decided to save money rather than to send Lewis and Clark out to explore and chart North America?

It is a sad commentary on the quality of men in our era that Emma Watson is afraid that she is too rich to attract suitors. She's also beautiful and smart, which one supposes is also intimidating to some.

Children of Orion - Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 6.

Iceland Elects Assembly Made Up of Ordinary People to Write New Constitution

The small country of Iceland, having weathered an economic collapse two years ago, has decided to make a fresh start by rewriting its constitution. The twist is that the new Icelandic constitution will literally be a product of the popular will.

The Tea Party's Next Target -- Big Business

Having helped to engineer the mother of all "shellackings" against President Obama and Congressional Democrats, the Tea Party has acquired its next target. Tea Party activists proposed to go after big business.

How Stuxnet crippled the Iranian nuclear bomb program. Someone has a sense of humor.

There is one clue that was left in the code that may tell us all we need to know.

Embedded in different section of the code is another common computer language reference, but this one is misspelled. Instead of saying “DEADFOOT,” a term stolen from pilots meaning a failed engine, this one reads “DEADFOO7.”

Yes, OO7 has returned -- as a computer worm.

Stuxnet. Shaken, not stirred.

Virgin Galactic Responds to Study Alleging Environmental Impact of Space Tourism

Virgin Galactic, the nascent space tourism company that plans to send paying passengers on suborbital jaunts into space, has responded to a study that suggests space tourist flights would pollute the upper atmosphere.

Why America is exceptional. Should be required viewing by the Obama White House:

A Special White House Assistant for Reality -- Peggy Noonan's Great Idea

Peggy Noonan thinks that President Barack Obama needs a "Special Assistant for Reality" to tell him what the American people think about him and his policies. It is a good idea, but likely futile because Obama will not listen.

A discussion of Sarah Palin's thoughts on space in her new book is causing our friends in the Internet Rocketeer Club to go into full Palin Derangement mode. How dare she criticize Obamaspace! Who does that rube from Wasilla think she is?

Also, a media double standard concerning death threats against Bristol Palin and Willow Palin's unfortunate use of a word that should never be uttered, but rhymes with "maggot."

'The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength' -- Raise Our Taxes!

While polling data suggest that most people in America by overwhelming margins support low taxes, a group of people calling themselves "The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength" are calling for tax increases for "the rich."

Sarah Palin explains the "North Korea" gaffe which apparently not much of one since she corrected herself in the next sentence.

Sarah Palin Condemned for Murdering Animals for Food

One of the main reasons the elites hate Sarah Palin is not her conservatism, her folksy mannerisms, her mode of speech, her (for them) disconcerting comeliness, or even the fact that she did not go to an Ivy League school.

President Obama's Poll Numbers Bleak with Independents, Women, the Young, Whites

The Washington Examiner's Byron York relates poll statistics that are as awful as awful can be for President Barack Obama and his prospects of getting reelected. With one exception, President Obama has lost heavily among all demographics.

India as a space partner

Farming on other worlds

Ninjabread cookies

Is the IRS Targeting Pro-Israel Groups?

A Jewish group called "Z Street" is suing the IRS, claiming that its application for tax-exempt status is being held up on account of its support for the State of Israel. "Z Street" has introduced a letter it has acquired in federal court to back up this claim.

More on Lockheed Martin Proposes Orion Test Flight in 2013, Manned Mission to Moon or Asteroid in 2015

Lockheed Martin, which has already proposed sending NASA astronauts in an Orion spacecraft to the L2 point over the Lunar Farside, is planning a fairly aggressive test program for the Orion that includes an unmanned flight by 2013.

Sarah Palin continues to cause bizzare behavior on the part of some people. First, there is the animal rights wacko group that condemned the Palins for beating the heck out of halibut during the last episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska.

That sort of thing is to be expected from rabid people who don't understand where food comes from. But here is the latest establishment Republican, Mark McKinnon, who is begging the Mama Grizzly not to run.

It is not that she hasn't admirable qualities.

Did she face some tough slogging to reach her remarkable perch? Sure, you betcha. I admire her tenacity, her verve, her moxie, and her pluck. As she releases what’s sure to be another bestseller, America by Heart, I think it’s phenomenal how Palin has been able to leverage her moment in the spotlight. I marvel at her masterful manipulation of the media, and her ability to redirect the national debate with merely a tweet. Most of all, I like the way she defies conventional wisdom and does things her own way: She doesn’t retreat, she reloads. And without Palin and the Tea Party backing Republican candidates, I doubt the crimson tide would have risen so high Nov. 2.

Palin’s appeal completely befuddles metro-intellectuals. They scoff at her “experience,” holding the one-time city manager, mayor, oil and gas commission chair, governor, and vice presidential nominee to a different standard than candidate Obama. A marathon runner, mother of five, and grandmother to one, she has no qualms about smacking a slimy halibut—or an oil and gas company—upside the head. And don’t be fooled, underneath that “prom hair” is a brilliant populist.

Least you think that these are qualities that would make a great candidate or President, McKinnon would like to disabuse you of that notion.

Yet I find myself continually goaded into denigrating her, saying things like “she’s reached her sell-by date,” “her stock is going down,” and “if she’s smart, she won’t run for president.” And I was going to go on TV recently and say, “It’s rare you hear quantitative easing and Sarah Palin in the same sentence,” until I realized that she did a hell of a lot better job explaining the complex concept than I could.

Gee, someone who understands economics better than the Washington elites. Certainly not Presidential material here.

If Palin runs, I think the entire Republican primary process will be hijacked. With ardent fans and a rabid media, it will become Palin-palooza. A celebrity fest will follow with even more amplitude than the adulation and adoration that surrounded Barack Obama, who was so revered he was sometimes referred to in biblical proportions as “The One.” An all-consuming super nova, Palin will suck the oxygen out of every room, everywhere she goes. And one of two things will happen. Discerning conservative voters in early primary states will be offended by the circus-like atmosphere and the presumption that they could so easily fall for a “cult of personality.” And they will vote against her. And she will lose. Or, Republican voters will be completely swept up in the mania and nominate her as the GOP standard bearer to go up against President Obama. And she will lose—perhaps the only Republican nominee who could lose in 2012

Essentially the takeaway here is that the electorate is going to want boring. And Sarah Palin is anything but boring. And by not being boring, she will lose.

Somehow the logic escapes me.

Lockheed Martin is nothing if not ambitious.

Lockheed Martin aims to launch a 2013 test flight from Cape Canaveral that could lead to a U.S. astronaut mission to an asteroid or the moon by 2015.

The aerospace giant plans to loft a NASA Orion spacecraft atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket, which would blast off from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Flying unmanned, the Apollo-style capsule would be launched into a highly elliptical orbit about 5,000 miles from Earth.

With the Orion zooming along at 20,500 mph, the trajectory would "match the hostile deep space environment and scorching re-entry temperatures and dynamics that would be seen in a lunar or asteroid mission," said John Karas, vice president and general manager of human space flight for Lockheed Martin.

An expedition to an asteroid in 2015 would best President Barack Obama’s 2025 target by a decade.

The 2013 flight would enable NASA and Lockheed Martin to retire 75 percent of the technical risk involved with a lunar orbit or asteroid mission, officials said.

A tower-like launch abort system similar to those employed by Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft would be jettisoned.

Flight controllers would test spacecraft stability and attitude control as well as its ability to maneuver in orbit.

Debris shielding also would be tested along with the Orion’s new parachute landing system and recovery processes.

The Orion spacecraft would splash down in the Pacific Ocean within a five-square-mile area off the coast of San Diego.

NASA and Lockheed Martin are focusing on a new streamlined approach to Orion development since the cancellation of NASA’s Project Constellation return-to-the-moon program.

The idea that this is possible would perturb the White House, whom I believe deferred space exploration until to 2020s in order essentially to kill it.

Addendum: Andyu Pasztor seems to be just a tad confused about what is being proposed here. It is clear that using a Delta IV is an interim solution until the HLV is on line. One will hope that the new Congress will not be as confused.

For one thing, I'm pretty sure an HLV will be needed to get an Orion to lunar orbit not to mention a Earth approaching asteroid.

Addendum 2: Clark Lindsey also seems to be more than a little confused.

This is dangerous for the heavy lift launcher (HLV) project, also a Constellation carry-over in the authorization, because it might give the public the crazy idea that there already exists a launcher capable of doing what a NASA HLV will need to do in the next decade or two, which is to launch Orion.

Actually an Orion/Delta IV Heavy combo is more of a threat to the two government subsidized "commercial" space craft being created by Space X and Boeing than a NASA developed SD-HLV.

Here is the unofficial viral video for the upcoming film "Apollo 18":


Strange - Viral Video
Uploaded by dreadcentral. - Check out other Film & TV videos.

Meanwhile Aintitcool has the poster out. The caption: "There's a Reason We Haven't Gone Back to the Moon."

I guess the answer is neither political stupidity nor the fact Buzz has already been there.

Addendum: 'Apollo 18' Teaser Poster Released

.The film website Ainitcool has published the teaser poster for the upcoming film "Apollo 18," which is based on the premise that there was at least one secret Apollo mission to the Moon that found—something—on the lunar surface.

'Stargate Universe' Season 2 Episode 9 'Visitation'

In "Stargate Universe" Season 2 Episode 9 "Visitation," the Destiny pops out of faster-than-light drive to find the shuttle that had been left behind with a party of the crew who had chosen to remain on a planet to make new lives.

Ordinarily I could care less about "Dancing with the Stars." But the whole kerfuffle with Bristol Palin, the accusations of a tea party conspiracy, and the death threats drew my interest. In any case, the drama is over for another year. Congratulations to Jennifer Grey for winning, by the way.

Kindle books can now be given as gifts.

Adam Savage does TSA airport security myths. Apparently the scanner saw his junk, but not the razor blades he was carrying.

Busted!

Rand Simberg continues his jihad against heavy lift. The meat of the post is the comments section in which Rand dialogues with a person named Joe. It is a very revealing conversation, showing that Rand has not thought through a lot of things concerning Obamaspace.

Addendum: Rand persists in missing the point. The policy is bad largely because it comes from a President who cannot and does not want to make good policy. It ends space exploration and hobbles commercial space with government subsidies that will inevitably mean government rules and government caused corruption. That Rand and the other enablers of Obamaspace do not see that is maddening to anyone with eyes to see.

Lockheed Martin has come up with a plan to send an Orion to the L2 point, from where both the lunar farside and Earth will be visible. One of the main tasks for the astronauts will be to teleoperate robots at the lunar South Pole-Aitken basin to "practice doing the same thing on Mars."

Or, actually, prepare for a lunar base once the mistakes of Obamaspace are corrected and the Moon is back as a focus for initial exploration.

Addendum: NASA Mission to the Lunar Farside Proposed by Lockheed Martin

Technically, Lockheed Martin's idea of an expedition to the L2 point, the area where the Earth's and Moon's gravity more or less cancel one another out on the opposite side of the Moon from Earth, fits neatly into Obama's stated exploration strategy.

Bristol Palin Gets Death Threats for 'Dancing with the Stars'

Is seems that Palin Derangement Syndrome has now started to affect the eldest daughter of Sarah Palin, and for reasons that seem rather trivial. Bristol
Palin is receiving death threats for her continued appearance on "Dancing With the Stars."

Meanwhile, Palin Derangement Syndrome explained.

North Korean Bombardment of South Korean Island Elicits Tepid Response from Obama Administration

The 60-year-old Korean War, which is technically still on, since the official cessation of hostilities only ended with a truce, flared briefly again as North Korea bombarded a South Korean island with 200 artillery shells.

'House' Season 7 Episode 8 'Small Sacrifices'

At the start of "House" Season 7 Episode 8 "Small Sacrifices," a man is having himself nailed to a cross as an apparent extreme act of religious devotion. However, along with the usual agony this involves, he starts to vomit blood.

TSA Security Officials Feel Victimized by 'Verbal Abuse' from Airline Passengers

The controversy surrounding electronic strip search body scanners and enhanced pat downs has started to victimize a new group of people—the TSA security personnel who have been called upon to carry out the new procedures.

Obama Job Approval Below 40 Percent -- Zogby

The latest Zogby Poll suggests that the political troubles that have afflicted President Barack Obama, resulting in the "shellacking" of the 2010 midterm elections, have not only not abated, but have gotten seriously worse.

Outside-the-Box Budget Solutions: Privatize Government, Lease the Moon

Numerous solutions are floated every year on how the United States should deal with its growing deficit and budget woes. Some more recent and notable documents include the Paul Ryan Roadmap and the National Deficit Commission draft proposal. Here are two more out-of-the-box ideas on how to balance the budget.

Why Did Barbara Bush Diss Sarah Palin?

Barbara Bush, the wife of one President and the mother of another, seemed to diss Sarah Palin when she expressed the hope that former Governor Palin stay in Alaska and presumably not run for president.

Samuel Wolanyk, Airline Passenger, Strips to Show TSA that he has Nothing to Hide

Samuel Wolanyk decided to take civil disobedience against TSA security procedures to the next level when, having refused to go through the body scan, stripped to his underwear rather than undergo the "enhanced pat down."

Where first for space resources?

The Moon, in my view.

Lou Friedman has a rather bizzare rant about the cost of human space flight.

If I were a Tea Party enthusiast, I’d say it is time to take back human space flight from the politicians and make it once again for all humankind. But if I did that, I would be just as naive as those who think that we can accomplish space exploration without the government.

Friedman shows a certain ignorance about the Tea Party that is, alas, widely shared. He may not be aware that there were Tea Party protests, albeit in Texas and Florida, against Mr. Obama's cancellation of the Constellation space exploration program. The Tea Partiers who expressed themselves on the subject are quite comfortable about a vigorous, well funded program of space exploration.

My view is that if we space enthusiasts do not get our act together, humans will lose the space race to the robots. Human space flight will continue for a while (as it did following the space shuttle decision), but public support will drop if human exploration is carried out without grand purpose.

There is some truth to this, but it is strange coming from a former official of The Planetary Society, an organization once known (as Friedman notes) for its opposition to human space exploration. The Planetary Society also endorsed Obamaspace, by the way.

'Sarah Palin's Alaska - Just for the Halibut'

"Sarah Palin's Alaska- Just for the Halibut," besides being a bad, timeworn pun of a title, sets out to show Sarah Palin taking daughter Bristol on a couple of outings to get her mind off of what was then the latest drama concerning Levi Johnson.

'The Walking Dead' Season 1 Episode 4 'Vatos'

In "The Walking Dead" Season 1 Episode 4 "Vatos," a couple of disturbing developments occur. First, Rick and company find Merle (most of him) missing from the roof top where he had been handcuffed to a pipe.

'Dexter' Season 5 Episode 9 'Teenage Wasteland'

n "Dexter" Season 5 Episode 9 "Teenage Wasteland," Dexter and Lumen are hunting down evidence on Jordan Chase so that Mr. Tick Tock man can be the latest to suffer the wages of sin on Dexter's table.

While Hollywood still persists in not recognizing who the real enemies of civilization are, the video game industry gets it and has reaped huge financial rewards as a result.

Maybe some brave film maker will take notice and make a movie with a terrorist/commie body count in the at least four figures.

It is a little funny having someone who believes in demonic possession running down both "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" as somehow glamorizing evil. Father Thomas J. Euteneuer is more than a little wide of the mark. However it would be fascinating to hear his views on "True Blood."

Newt Gingrich, in 2008, had nothing but praise for Sarah Palin. This is ironic as Newt may well be contesting Sarah Palin for the GOP nomination in 2012. Still, what an interesting Palin for President campaign commercial this will be.

Another response to Mona Charon's rather snooty put down of Sarah Palin.

'The Watchman's Rattle' by Rebecca Costa - Review

Paul Spudis offers an analysis of why he thinks Constellation failed. I have to disagree with this point:

As this was done subtly, no one (in either oversight branch) initially noticed that an unaffordable approach to lunar return was being developed. Moreover, because the agency was approaching lunar return as a “super Apollo” set of extended sorties, the architecture was incapable of accomplishing the basic objective of going to the Moon to learn how to live and work there.

Mike Griffin has responded to this criticism by pointing out that his architecture was designed with a budget that was promised to him by the Bush administration but never delivered. It is almost impossible to manage a program that has to fit into a budget that it constantly changing. The tendency is to downscale the project (hence deferring or eliminating the parts about learning to live and work on the Moon Paul complains about.)

Paul's idea that a space council might provide executive branch oversight of NASA and high profile space projects is a good one, especially if it provides not only communication from the top down, but also in the opposite direction. One wonders how things would have turned out if Mike Griffin could have made his concerns about being blindsided about what he was given to work with to decision makers who were both willing and able to address those concerns.

Is Senator Bill Nelson vulnerable because of insufficient opposition to Obamaspace?

Many of those callers urging him to run, he told TheDC, are urging him to run based on his support for programs at NASA.

“He [Nelson] has allowed NASA to be destroyed,” Haridopolos said. “That’s 20,000 jobs, let alone the more important component which is national security. That’s why, I think, people who have been long-time Bill Nelson supporters are calling people like me and saying we want you to challenge Bill Nelson because he’s not standing up for Florida.”

Pope Benedict Opens Door for Condom Use

Pope Benedict XVI has raised some eyebrows by suggesting that the use of condoms by male prostitutes to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases might be considered valid according the Catholic Church doctrine.

Sarah Palin's view on the American space program and Obama space policy revealed in her new book. It will not please the Internet Rocketeer Club.

Even the moon landing - evoked in both books but with starkly different intent - becomes a point of contention. Searching for the roots of his and his daughters' advance in American society, Obama hails courageous astronaut Neil Armstrong, who "made us brave enough to take our own big, bold strides." Palin recalls President John F. Kennedy's "confidence and brio" in launching the race to the moon, then chides Obama for wimping out on the space program.

It's even worse than that, she warns, quoting the head of NASA as saying that his agency's top goal was to reach out to Muslim nations "to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and math and engineering." Palin is aghast: "What? Holding hands and singing 'Kumbaya' with Muslim countries? What does that have to do with our once proud and pioneering space program?"

I do like that woman. She might make a fine President.

TSA Security Outrages Fall Heaviest on the Disabled

More examples of TSA security screening outrages keep rolling in. The stories seem to focus on people with medical conditions, who are being handled by TSA officials in ways that violate standards of common decency.

Sarah Palin on Airport Security: 'Profile Away'

Sarah Palin has jumped into the current controversy over TSA airport security by calling for profiling passengers rather than to have them electronically strip searched or else frisked by security personnel over every inch of their bodies.

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1' Movie Review

These are dark times, no question, at the beginning of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part 1." One is expected to respond, "What was your first clue, Mr. Minister?" Only a politician can state the obvious so eloquently.

Charlie Bolden is certainly trying to make the Internet Rocketeer Club very angry.

NASA needs to fly an additional space shuttle mission to the international space station next year because development of privately owned rockets and spacecraft designed to ferry cargo to the orbiting outpost is likely to be delayed, according to the agency’s top official.

“We are hoping to fly a third shuttle mission in June, what everybody calls the launch-on-need mission … and that’s really needed to [buy down] the risk for the development time for commercial cargo,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told civil servants at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., during an all-hands address Nov. 16. “If there’s any delay in … delivery of commercial capability to take cargo to station, we could find ourselves in a situation as bad as having to de-man the station or take it down to three people, and we really don’t want to do that.”

Whether Bolden is saying that the commercial space companies will not get as much funding as expected or whether he is saying that they will not be able to perform on schedual at any price, one can already hear the exploding heads.

Stuxnet Computer Virus Designed to Sabatoge Iranian Nuclear Centifuges

It is beginning to be more and more apparent that the Stuxnet computer worm, which has caused all sorts of trouble for Iran's quest for the nuclear bomb, was designed specifically to sabotage nuclear centrifuges.

Mona Charon is the latest righty, female pundit to get all bitchy about Sarah Palin. You would think that Charon and Peggy Noonan would relish the success of a fellow woman conservative and not act like one of the Fashion Club, sniffing, "Who does she think he is?"

I wonder if it's living in the hot house political culture in New York that causes people to behave so.

Stacy Drake responds.

Daniel Day-Lewis will have the title role in Spielberg's Lincoln.

How the TSA Confiscated Nail Clippers from Soldiers (with Real Weapons) Flying Home from Afghanistan

Just when the behavior of TSA officials conducting airport security could not get more absurd, Erick Erickson of Red State relates the story of a plane full of soldiers coming home from Afghanistan and their adventures at the Indianapolis Airport.

Also, from the incomparable Iowahawk, "Comply with Me" the Music Video

Today is the 147th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Here is what I had to say about Mr. Lincoln's remarks a couple of years ago.

'Bones' Season 6 Episode 7 'The Babe in the Bar'

"Bones" Season 6 Episode 7 "The Babe in the Bar" begins with the discovery of the remains of a young woman in a giant chocolate bar. This development is very disconcerting, especially to Jimmy Walpert, the chocolate factory owner.

'Burn Notice' Season 4 Episode 14 'Hot Property'

As "Burn Notice" Season 4 Episode 14 "Hot Property" begins, Michael is still sore from being shot by Jesse and Jesse is still sore from being betrayed by Michael. Madeline is beginning to get irritated by this soreness, mom that she is.

Near death experiences have been explained as either actual visions of the after-life or else the reaction of brain chemicals to impending death. The interesting thing is that the experience of Colton appears not to have been induced by a near death and, if the account is to be taken at face value, cannot be explained by brain chemicals.

Sarah Palin refudiates qualitative easing.

It looks like that the Japanese do not regard space as wasteful spending.

Ahmed Ghailani Acquitted on All but One Charge

The Obama administration's plan to try Guantanamo detainees in civilian courts took a likely fatal blow when confessed terrorist Ahmed Ghailani was acquitted of all of the more than 280 charges brought against him except for one.

'South Park' Season 14 Episode 14 'Creme Fraiche'

In "South Park" Season 14 Episode 14 "Crème Fraiche," the boys examine the growing problem of Food Network addiction. It seems that Randy, Stan's dad, has it something awful. He cannot get through the day without watching a pork loin being buttered.

Jay Rockefeller: Take Fox News, MSNBC Off the Air

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) wandered into a hearing on retransmission consent being chaired by Senator John Kerry in order to vent on what he feels is the poor level of political discourse on the airways.

Taylor Dinerman, as he has before, provides some cold, hard, and unpleasent reality about Obamaspace.

The Obama Administration's February 2010 proposal for NASA's future direction is mostly dead: if the administration's goal was to kill the Bush-era plan to return American to the Moon, it has been a success. If the President and his advisors' goal, however, was to chart a bold new direction for the US Space Agency, the proposal has been an abject failure.

The Earth's Moon has long been recognized as the critical control point, or "Gibralter Point," of the Solar System: for more than 200 years, the British controlled access to the Mediterranean from their base at Gibraltar; similarly, even an unarmed a base on the Moon would give a similar advantage to whichever nation owned it.

Although the Constellation plan was justified by the Bush administration on both scientific and economic grounds, more important were other, unspoken, strategic grounds: to put it plainly,: from the Moon one can control access to the other planets. Further, the Moon has been shown to contain critical resources, especially water.

The conclusion Dinerman gives us is sobering.

When President Obama proposed to cancel the Constellation Moon program last February, Senator Richard Shelby (R Alabama) claimed that this would be the beginning of a "Death March" for America's manned space program. Unfortunately he may have been right.

Addenedum: Rand Simberg says that it is time for Charlies Bolden to go. A sensible suggestion, if it also includes Lori Garver and quite a few other Obamanistas.

Rand makes the mistake he keeps making about Obamaspace, though.

•The incoherent rollout of President Barack Obama's new space policy in February, which he didn't seem to understand himself, resulting in hyperbolic mischaracterizations of it as "the end of U.S. human spaceflight."
•A lack of command and ability to articulate the policy in congressional hearings on the subject over the months since, allowing the program to be further mischaracterized as a "bailout" for commercial space companies, when in fact its predecessor was one for the traditional contractors on the failing Constellation program.

When the policy itself is incoherent, as Taylor Dinerman (see above) points out, then the message that sells it must inherently be incoherent. It is amazing that people like Rand, who is usually reliable about other aspects of Obama policy, become Obama Zombies when it comes to Obama space policy. Rand sounds a lot like Nancy Pelosi talking about health care reform; nothing wrong with the policy that good messaging won't fix.

In fact, along with Bolden, Garver, and all the rest, what is left of the Obama space policy needs to be scrapped and a new one put in its place. It should empower commercial space in a sensible, even handed manner, while focusinge exploration efforts on the Moon. Until that happens, America's space effort will remain adrift and listless.

And, by the way, it was Bolden himself who suggested that commercial space companies might need a bailout.

A Man From Uncle movie is probably inevitable. But George Clooney as Napoleon Solo? I suppose Brad Pitt has to be Illya Kuryakin. But then who will be Mr. Waverly?

Mining On The Moon Is A Not-So-Distant Possibility

While lunar mining might some day be economically feasible for countries and companies, a Missouri University of Science and Technology researcher believes strongly that mining in space is essential to the very survival of our species.

Inside the Palin Inner Circle

John Birmingham gazes from his lofty perch across the Pacific to muse upon security theater in America.

Also Erin Chase describes her own sexual assault at the hands of a TSA bureaucrat.

Lisa Murkowski Defeats Joe Miller

It looks like Lisa Murkowski has pulled off a win in a remarkable feat. She not only defeated the official Republican nominee in a write-in campaign, but she also did it against a Tea Party-favorite, Sarah Palin-endorsed candidate.

Nancy Pelosi Elected as House Minority Leader

As many analysts expected, soon-to-be-former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was elected as House Minority Leader in the upcoming Congress, winning 150 to 43 for moderate opponent Heath Schuler of North Carolina.

Is Bristol Palin Being Kept on 'Dancing With the Stars' As Part of a Tea Party Plot?

A curious conspiracy theory has arisen among the legions of Sarah Palin haters. It seems that there is a shadowy cabal of Tea Party activists who keep voting for Bristol Palin in a plot to keep her in the running on "Dancing with the Stars."

New Leadership Project to Recruit Down Ballot Tea Party Candidates

Two organizations called "American Majority" and "American Majority Action" have launched a million-dollar campaign to identify and elect a farm team of Tea Party candidates to offices ranging from school boards to state legislatures.

'Stargate Universe' Season 2 Episode 8 'Malice'

"Stargate Universe" Season 2 Episode 8 "Malice" starts with the brutal murder of Ginn, or rather Amanda in Ginn's body. This also has the effect of killing Ginn in Amanda's body back on Earth. Consternation and rage ensue.

Comply with me

Dennis Wingo is calling for the enactment of Zero G/Zero Tax. Considering how the new Congress is going to feel about direct subsidies to commercial space firms, that is a sound idea.

Congressional Republicans to Investigate TSA Airport Security Practices

Byron York of the Washington Examiner is reporting that the new Republican-controlled House sees TSA overreach as a new issue to be investigated. Not only are millions of airline passengers being humiliated and degraded, security is not being enhanced.

Addendum: Minneapolis air port is considering switching to private screeners.

Addendum: picked up by Yahoo.News.

Shelly Ross sees hidden messages in Sarah Palin's Alaska. I think she is overanalysing, but is a neat parlor game.

Charlie Rangel Found Guilty of Multiple Ethics Violations

The day after Rep. Charlie Rangel stormed out of the meeting of a panel of the House Ethics Committee deliberating on his alleged ethics violations, the same panel found Rangel guilty of multiple breaches of House ethics rules.

John Tyner's 'Don't Touch My Junk!' New Cris De Coeur of the Put-Upon Airline Passenger

John Tyner may be an unlikely hero of the outraged and put-upon airline passenger. Certainly his admonition to the TSA security official, "Don't touch my junk," does not ring in the same way as "I regret I have but one life to give for my country."

Sarah Palin's 'Refudiate' Now 'Word of the Year' 2010 -- New American Oxford Dictionary

"Refudiate," a word that began as a likely typo in a tweet by Sarah Palin about the 9/11 mosque, has become the "word of the year," according to the New American Oxford English Dictionary, beating out a number of examples of computer-inspired jargon.

'House' Season 7 Episode 7 'A Pox on Our House'

In "House" Season 7 Episode 7 "A Pox on Our House," an 18th century tragedy involving a slave ship filled with unwilling and diseased passengers results in a 21st century tragedy involving a jar, a cut hand, and something resembling small pox.

Joan Johnson-Freese makes a very strange justification for President Obama canceling the Constellation space exploration program that does not fit known facts. First, she notes the anger with which it was greeted.

Reading comments posted in association with articles about President Obama canceling the Constellation program, the 2010 National Space Policy (NSP) and NASA’s subsequent attempts to regroup, I’m struck by the generalized, vitriolic rage voiced in many of them. President Obama is charged in hyperbolic language with ending the U.S. human space exploration program, and both disinterest about ramifications and often even malice are attributed to his actions. If the rage being expressed is actually frustration and fear associated with loss of Constellation-related jobs, it is understandable. It’s the same feelings exhibited by auto workers in Michigan when told by both presidential candidate Obama and McCain that their jobs weren’t coming back. More often, however, the rage is voiced as against the cancellation of a program dear to the heart of Americans, and against their will. That, unfortunately, is not entirely accurate.

Why is space exploration not dear to the heart of Americans?

The American people, like consumers, have choices regarding how their tax money is spent. That, proclaimed the winners, is what the recent election results reflected.

The problem is that Barack Obama promised during the 2008 campaign to support the goal of a return to the Moon by 2020. His election was not, therefore, an endorsement of reneging on that promise.

If the bipartisan support for human spaceflight were as strong as we space enthusiasts would like to believe, legislators would prioritize it over other programs. But nobody is predicting large increases in discretionary spending consequent to the election, and certainly not for space exploration.

The recent Congress was hardly responsive to the American people when it came to spending and legislation. It passed an eight hundred billion dollar stimulus package (a fraction of which would have put Constellation back on track) and a health care reform bill that the vast majority of the American people found anathema.

Indeed, it may be suggested that the recent 2010 election was a reaction against the spending priorities that Joan Johnson-Freese defends. With the National Debt Commission now suggesting the ending of government subsidies for commercial space, it has become increasingly apparent that Obama's ending of Constellation and reliance on a crony capitalism scheme to jump start a "commercial" space sector was not the responsible move at all. It was done, contrary to what the article suggests, out of ideology and not out of practical concerns for a budget deficit that the current administration exploded with its stimulus and social welfare spending.

Raise retirement age, flatten tax code, and cut discretionary spending
This is not a comprehensive view. Yahoo seriously wanted five hundred words or less.