I have some thoughts on the Jerry Sandusky affair. And Michael Mann…
Category Archives: Business
The Commerce Clause
Randy Barnett has a suggested amendment to restore it to its original purpose.
The Twilight Zone
When the Party of the Takers becomes bigger than the Party of the Providers.
Yes, Milos Forman
Of course Barack Obama is a socialist. You have to really be in willful denial of his entire true biography and reality to think otherwise.
Technophobic Fearmongering
I love the picture in this story.
Brian’s Latest Lunacy
Does anyone think that this insanely bigoted spew is worth responding to?
[Afternoon update]
By the way, for those wondering, this is a perfect example of how he got himself banned from the comments section here (one of the very few people that’s happened to). It must be terrible to go around filled with that much rage and hate.
Space Mining Legal Issues
Leonard David has a report on the recent discussion in Golden.
“Why Doesn’t The Press Report On This?”
Gene Cernan admits that when he testified before Congress, he didn’t know what he didn’t know:
Some, like Charlie Duke and Al Bean, were effusive in their praise of SpaceX and the next generation of space explorers. Al Bean spent 20 minutes writing rough drafts and crafting each word of his message with the SpaceX team in mind.
Then I approached Gene Cernan, and held my breath. I figured it would be a bit more difficult to break from the social proof of his esteemed colleagues. And so he listened. As with every Apollo astronaut who signed this photo, I was able to talk about SpaceX and answer his questions. Gene was interested in who financed SpaceX — what big money interests got it going. I told him that Elon Musk personally financed the company for all of its first $100 million, when no one else would bet on the venture, and he saw it through thick and thin, including the first three launches of the Falcon 1, all of which failed spectacularly. As I told him these stories of heroic entrepreneurship, I could see his mind turning. He found a reconciliation: “I never read any of this in the news. Why doesn’t the press report on this?”
Good question.
[Update early afternoon]
Clark Lindsey mirrors my thoughts:
…it was always clear that Cernan and Armstrong had not done their homework on SpaceX or on NASA’s commercial crew program in general. They didn’t know a lot of rudimentary facts about the CCP, such as the involvement of Boeing and ULA, and had not visited the entrants in the program. It should not have required a perfect mission to the ISS to get them to take the time to learn about SpaceX. Their criticisms of the CCP in the hearings got tremendous press attention and played a role in the underfunding of the CCP and the partial restoration of the Constellation hardware.
It was truly a disservice to the nation. I hope that at least they’ll try to make up for it in the future.
Grasshopper
It’s reportedly on the verge of making its first hop.
Trains To Nowhere Over Rocket Ships
California expresses its preference. My thoughts on XCOR’s Texas move, over at PJMedia.