All posts by Rand Simberg

Space

Lunar Leisure World?

Joshua Elder wants to see the Moon become a retirement community.

It’s possible, though I suspect that it might even become a desirable location for the working class as well, depending on how bad things get down here from a tax and freedom standpoint. There’s nothing in this piece that wasn’t true a decade ago, though, and he seems a little overenamored of particular technical solutions (e.g., single-stage-to-orbit).

As is often the case, it started off a round of comments arguing about the best way to build space transports, and how it’s expensive to get into space because of the “physics” (which reminds me–I found a nice page the other day that thoroughly debunks this notion, and provides a good FAQ as to why space access is currently expensive).

The real point is that we have to get private enterprise on the case to figure out the best way, rather than arguing about it on the internet, and once we do, it will become apparent what the best uses of our off-world locales and resources are as well.

Uncategorized

Cats And Dogs Living Together

In contrast to Charlie Rangel, Bill Clinton gets it, and demonstrates why he was so politically successful. Of course, some of it is to try to cover his own sorry ass for his pusillanimousness with respect to foreign (as opposed to Montana militia) terrorism.

Fortunately, in their utter insanity over their unexpected and continued loss of power, to which they thought themselves naturally entitled, I expect the Democrats to continue driving themselves over the cliff.

Political Commentary

Why The Dems Will Lose Next Year

Because they have Charlie Rangel as one of their spokesmen (sorry, no good URL):

The U.S. acted illegally when its soldiers attacked and killed Uday and Qusay Hussein, a leading Democratic congressman complained on Tuesday, before mocking the military maneuver that succeeded in eliminating the brutal duo.

“We have a law on the books that the United States should not be assassinating anybody,” Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-NY, told Fox News Channel’s “Hannity & Colmes.”

“We tried to assassinate Castro and we paid dearly for it,” the Rangel contended. “And when you personalize the war and you say you’re killing someone’s kids, then they, in turn, think they can kill somebody.”

When an incredulous Sean Hannity expressed dismay at Rangel’s comments, the Harlem Democrat shot back, “How can you get so much satisfaction that two bums have been killed? We got bums all over the world and some in the United States.”

Then Rangel mocked the U.S. military’s success in killing the two Hussein heirs, saying, “I personally don’t get any satisfaction that it takes 200,000 troops, 250,000 troops, to knock off two bums.”

Uncategorized

Good News From Iraq

It looks like they’ve not only killed Uday and Qusay, but their bodies are relatively intact. They may be body doubles, but it seems unlikely to me that there would be two doubles together. In any event, they should be able to confirm with DNA.

Intact bodies means they have pictures to distribute. It might even be useful, albeit barbaric (though not for that part of the world right now), to put the corpses on display in Baghdad, at least for a couple days, to suppress Elvis-like rumors, and really put the peoples’ minds at ease.

Just one ace left in the deck…