Business, Political Commentary, Space

The New Human Spaceflight Industry

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A long piece on personal space travel, over at New York Magazine. I found this interesting:

Wincer is frequently asked if customers can bring children. Several parents have attempted to give flights as sweet-sixteen birthday gifts; one customer, she said, “at the moment is desperate to let her 12-year-old fly.” The FAA had yet to address such questions, and Wincer sees it as a matter of informed consent, of which she thinks a 12-year-old is not capable. Many customers have their own private pilot’s license, and many others are scared of flying or small spaces. She had just read a profile of one client who is terrified of roller coasters: “Jesus,” she said.

One of those things is not like the other. I’m not much of a fan of roller coasters, but that wouldn’t affect my desire for (or enjoyment of) a parabolic flight at all. I’m also acrophobic, but I have no problem with flying. Being high on a structure is a completely different experience than flight, at least for me.

Of course, this isn’t really true, or at least it’s quite misleading:

The primary goal of the shuttle program was simple: to create a reusable space vehicle that could transport materials to and from the International Space Station.

There was no “International Space Station” when the Shuttle was being developed, and wouldn’t be until 1993, though it was meant to be a precursor program to some sort of space station, which was undefined at the time. Of course, ironically, the fact that they built into it the capability to be a short-term space station probably reduced the incentive to actually build one, which is why the first bit of hardware for ISS wasn’t launched until almost twenty years after the Shuttle started flying.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Benghazi And Going The “Full Nixon”

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Thoughts from Roger L. Simon:

The Benghazi scandal is more disturbing than just lying about a terror attack to get reelected. And that’s pretty disturbing, considering the lies were made directly to the families of the victims. (cf. Hillary Clinton telling Charles Woods, one of the dead SEALS’ father, they were going to get the guy who made that video and revenge his son’s death.)

The Benghazi scandal, in all probability, would not have happened if the administration and/or the State Department took the War on Terror seriously or even, dare I say it, put the words terrorism and Islamic together in a sentence. But that would break a thousand narratives in the mind of Barack Obama, from his childhood with Frank Marshall Davis until now and back.

So now he is riding the whirlwind. The question is, will he carry us (and Western Civ) with him?

The biggest difference between Watergate and Obama’s crimes against the Constitution is that, unlike Republicans in 1974, there are probably no Democrats with similar integrity in today’s Senate. The House shouldn’t impeach unless and until Democrats start to call for it (and if this happens, it will be because they finally realize what a disaster a continuation of his rule will be for the “progressive” agenda). They wanted him, they got him, and he’s their problem now.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Just A Coincidence, I’m Sure

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The IRS harassment formally began the day after the president met with the head of the IRS union:

In short: the very day after the president of the quite publicly anti-Tea Party labor union — the union for IRS employees — met with President Obama, the manager of the IRS “Determinations Unit Program agreed” to open a “Sensitive Case report on the Tea party cases.”

There’s a lot more to this. I suspect that last week just scratched the surface.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!