Let the Shuttle’s Demise Awaken Gingrich’s Space Dreams

[Valin]

Bloomberg

Jeffrey Goldberg

Apr 23, 2012

 

(Snip)

We returned to the terminal, and I watched on CNN as Discovery finished the journey to its nursing home in the Virginia countryside. Only then did the obvious thought cross my mind: Newt is right.

 

This isn’t a thought that has often crossed my mind, especially over the past several months, but on the matter of space exploration and the role it has played in teaching Americans that they are capable of performing exceptional acts of creativity and bravery, Newt Gingrich is exactly right.

 

So I called him and told him so. He is, from what I’m told, still busy running for president. But he seemed happy to talk about space and the terrible mistake the Obama administration made by canceling the Constellation program, which was meant to get Americans back to the moon.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Mining the asteroids: Platinum rush in the final frontier

 

On Tuesday, a new company called Planetary Resources Inc. unveiled its plans to mine asteroids that zip close by Earth, both to provide supplies for future interplanetary travellers and to bring back precious metals like platinum.

 

The venture may sound far-fetched - perhaps along the lines of US politician Newt Gingrich's campaign promise to colonise the moon - but it has already attracted some big-name investors, including Larry Page and Eric Schmidt of Google, as well as profitable technology development contracts.

 

"If you believe that resources in space are critical towards a space-faring future, you will inevitably come to the result that the asteroids - in fact, the near-Earth asteroids - are the stepping stones to the rest of the solar system," Eric C Anderson, one of the company's co-founders, said in a telephone interview.

(Snip)

 

 

 

 

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,

Or what's a heaven for?

Robert Browning

[raygun]

SO - understanding things properly - you're entirely happy stealing money from peoples wallets for government programs that you agree with?

 

What does anybody's 'space' dreams have to do with the Constitution?

 

You know:

 

Given the complexity of this issue...

 

get back to me about what the hell is being presented here:

 

http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html

 

Then there's:

 

The Juror

 

I bet all you guys want to be on the that one, eh? You know, the Trayvone Martin jury?

 

I'm pretty and fairly certain none of you have a clue...

[RedlegDuke]

Raygun sez: "What does anybody's 'space' dreams have to do with the Constitution?"

 

Well, seeing how man wasn't going much faster than a horse could carry him when the Constitution was written, I guess not much...directly...but, that little thing about "Provide for the common defense" comes to mind.

 

In my lifetime, we have gone into space with incredible perseverance and idealism, but when we achieved it, we failed to follow through. Once we got to the moon, we were hoodwinked by the community organizers into diverting space exploration funds into providing for those who were convinced that "livin' off da man" was an honorable vocation.

 

I remember when one of the Apollo Missins launched and Jessie Jackson was inteviewed at Cape Canaveral while the exhaust was still drifting away from the platform. He was asked for his thoughts and he said, "I was so overwhelmed that for a moment, I was proud to be an American", or something to that effect. He then launched into a tirade about wasting money on space when it should have been spent in the inner cities.

 

The spin-offs and rewards on the investments in space have greatly out-weighed the tax-payer investments. Failure to follow-through and the attrophy of NASA was criminal and both parties stand convicted of it. Under the watch of the RATS and GOP, NASA has gone from a "can-do" space agency to a "can't-do" bureaucracy.

 

Just my opinion.

[Valin]

SO - understanding things properly - you're entirely happy stealing money from peoples wallets for government programs that you agree with?

 

What does anybody's 'space' dreams have to do with the Constitution?

 

Know anything about The Erie Canal? The Transcontinental Railroad? The Interstate Highway System? The GPS System? Weather satellite system? National Parks? Louisiana Purchase? For that matter most of the wars/conflicts America has fought? Using your argument none of these things...and many more should have been done.

[Valin]