The President of Free Space, Part 3: Hope or Fear

September 24, 2008

Silly me. When I embarked on this project to chase down strings of rationality in the race for the U.S. presidency, using the space program as my fishing reel, I made a bad assumption. I thought rationality MATTERED to all people. You know?  Fact-gathering, logical reasoning, analysis, verification … the processes of science? Please stop chuckling. I know I should have known better.

So forget about the LOGICAL thing to do for NASA, let alone the country. I've realized what counts most in our society is a good story. We love drama. If it was our gross domestic product, we'd have so much money Sarah Palin would be writing us checks from the Treasury, just like they do with oil revenue in Alaska.

Now I know that (supposedly) the most important thing in the universe right now is our national financial situation. The question is what we are going to do about it? What will solve it?

I've learned from NASA that there is really only one way to go about solving a problem. It's called the scientific method, but I'm not really sure if it's being taught in school anymore. It's what got this country to the moon FORTY YEARS before our sisters, Japan, India, China (and I'm sorry if I'm forgetting anyone) had a clue how to do it, much less a program. Our only peer was the Soviet Union and we were scared to death they'd get there first. (They shouldn't have worried. Apparently, all they needed to do was wait until we became diverted, and in exchange for losing the moon race we'd build them a castle in the sky; for I'm told that Russia will be left sole occupant of the $100 billion International Space station unless our elected officials take a break from handling the NATIONAL FINANCIAL EMERGENCY and approve an exemption for NASA to buy rides to the station on Russian Soyuz rockets.  Perhaps that's why NASA's very erudite leader, Michael Griffin, used a most unscientific word in his officially acknowledged leaked email alerting the world to our IMPENDING NATIONAL SPACE CRISIS. He termed its handling a "jihad.")

I don't know if the proposed  $700 billion GREAT GOVERNMENT GIVEAWAY of 2008 is the right thing to do or not. I don't know if time is of the essence. I don't even know how you decide that, but I hope and pray that it is made with some degree of rationality. My Libertarian friends are even kind of exited by the stir, hoping it will rouse the good but sleepy citizens of this land we love to stop watching American Idol and reruns of Gilligan's Island (but by all means, please keep tuning in to Discovery Channel).

In a Democracy, APATHY is a cancer.

No offense intended, but we might want to question the sanity and motivations of John McCain and Barack Obama for wanting to take on this mess. (You too, Bob Barr!) There's no question they have balls: We've seen the pictures, watched the grainy films of handsome, young McCain in the POW camp and we can only imagine. And as far as Obama, well would YOU want to be a black man in America, much less one running for PRESIDENT??

Though I personally haven't given up that rationality will prevail when it comes time to vote, I've realized that that's a pretty high standard. As a steppingstone, I've designed a little quiz to help choose the next president, who as the leader of what we like to call The Free World, will be the President of Free Space, with the potential to galvanize what our space policy -- and our country -- will become.  Open or closed? Driven by fear or hope? Logical or emotional? Privately pioneered or not? Breaking ground or following footsteps? Creative or reactive?

Since I realize this cannot be objective (and frankly I find it a little exhausting trying to figure out which administration would be better for the country, the Big Government Republicans or the Big Government Democrats) I'm basing this quiz on things that matter to me. Ready? Here goes:

Who has the better sense of humor?

Who is smarter?

Who is more tolerant of dissenting views?

Who solicits and loves feedback?

Who can better control his behavior?

Got your candidate?  Good. Oh, one last question, if you don't mind. Does this change your vote?

Comments

[Dave Mosher]

Didn't change my (upcoming) vote.

[Ben]

Those last two pictures are hilarious. Thanks for the laugh.

[sari]

Very funny, Irene. Why is no one wearing lipstick? That's the REAL determinant in this race.

[Doug Kohl]

Irene,

Nice blog, good points. I sent your message to the Obama Campaign to see if we could get an official response on his support for manned space and the NASA space budget.

McCain is still waiting to see what the results are from the Mercury program before commenting any further. Palin is "close to Russia" so that must count for something in the Republican strategy thinking???

[Lori]

Wonderful Irene. You captioned the state of our country perfectly. Personally,I'd like to know who has the better laugh!

[D L Ennis]

I’m worried about NASA too…I’ve always been a big fan of our space program!

However, this is one ugly article! I mean working all of this ugly in with the beauty of NASA, in one article, is truly obscene!

[D L Ennis]

I’m worried about NASA too…I’ve always been a big fan of our space program!

However, this is one ugly article! I mean working all of this ugly in with the beauty of NASA, in one article, is truly obscene!

[David Good]

The question is in this era of politcs of, by and for the special interests, weither either of these men will have the vision to see the challenge for what it really is, the survival of the human species. This is a choice the dinosaurs never got to make. We either head up and out, or we stagnate and die. It's that simple.

Unfortunately, what passes for genuine leadership these days is hopelessly miopic in its vision, corrupted by the mediochre machinations of small minded men. We need leadership so bad that we applaud even the mere wizened shadows of it, when it makes its much too rare apperances.

True men and women of vision would put aside the partisan politics and wonkish doublespeak. They would jump at the chance to do good, accept the challenges we face, point a finger at the sky and aim for the stars. Instead, we have to choose from the lesser of two evils, and hope that they don't break things so bad that they can't be fixed.

My secret hope is that someone working in a garage will come up with the billion dollar solution, and figure out a way to open the door to the stars.

[Scottishgirl]

McCain was called to Washington...thank God he went....he let them (the laid back, do nothing bunch)know he would not favor their concept and today is paying the price for stalling the process.........WHO STALLED ALL THIS TIME?

I AM A FORMER WA MU EMPLOYEE (GREAT WESTERN) OF OVER 30 YEARS AND THIS IS A SAD DAY.....Washington wanting to look like the good guys rescuing the failing thrift in fact SAT ON THEIR HANDS..ALLOWED KERRY KILLENGER AND HIS BOARD OF DERELICS ENHANCE THEIR POCKETS WHILE WA MU STOCK BECAME PENNY STOCK AND RATHER THAN GET A BUYER AND FORCE A SALE...THEY BROUGHT IN THE BUYER JPMORGAN WHO HAS BEEN COURTING WA MU AND WHOM KILLENGER REFUSED TO SELL TO...TO STEP IN.... A F T E R ....THE WASHINGTON GOOD OLE'BOYS GOT THE FDIC TO TAKEOVER...FOR A MATTER OF HOURS MIND YOU....and then culminate a sale.

Wa Mu took a choice when JP Morgan was courting them and offering to buy with a share price of $4.00....instead a "cash infusion" which anyone with a brain reads TEMPORARY
ESPECIALLY BASED ON MANAGEMENT AS USUSAL.....so now....I like many sit with NO STOCK...THE INVESTMENT I HAVE HELD AND REVERED FOR YEARS...BEING A LOYAL EMPLOYEE (O.K. DON'T SAY A WORD I have beat myself up already...and have bad health to prove it. SO I ASK why didn't the government step in long ago and insist on a sale? Now, they are trying to look like the good guys because now it looks like the FDIC saved the day. THEY DIDN'T......THE SALE WAS A DONE DEAL....permitting Chase to get the bank less the stock portfolio. Lets face it the FDIC(Washington) could not let Wa Mu go under.....they could not have paid out the insured deposits if that had happened....SO THIS CROOKED BEHIND THE SCENES DEAL TOOK PLACE.....AND THE GOOD OLE BOYS ARE PROUD THEY SAVED THE DAY. This is criminal....and I will be in line for any class action suit that takes this one.....and the criminals........well lets just say....Killenger and all of his Washinton friends would be on the block.

I worked for Jim Montgomery and HE WOULD NEVER HAVE ALLOWED THE HEALTHY AND PRISTINE LENDING PRACTICES WE FOLLOWED GONE THIS ROUTE......BUT then he got his Golden Parachute...it's the people like me with their 401k's rolled to IRA's in stock form that lose today.....CRIMINAL...PLAIN AND SIMPLE
WASHINGTON....

[Irene]

HeyScottishGirl -- I'm really sorry you've been burned. I lost a buncha stock in WaMu's collapse too.

[Dan, Vancouver WA]

Wow! Obama looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger!

[Richard Bronosky]

Funny, you really did get me thinking. If Barack were white, I'd never consider voting for him. I think I'm just really excited about youth having a role model like Obama, rather than (Who is hot right now?) Little Wayne.

But, I've got to tell you that the idea of nationalized health care terrifies me. It's bad enough having huge insurance companies trying to dictate how I take care of myself and my family. Now I'm expected to trust the government that has made a mess of social security, public education, immigration enforcement, SEC oversight, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, etc. with my health care? The problem with health care was created by Nixon in 1971 with his wage freeze. Employers had to lure workers with health care. Now, it feels like the only way to get health care is through your employer. We need to correct that issue, not make it larger.

Now, back to race, which you managed to inject into this article, totally overshadowing all of the other good points you made. I want to see a black (he/she can come from somewhere other than Africa, just black is good enough) or female president. I just want to see it happen. But I want to be able to support their policies as well. Given every living human as an option, Herman Cain http://www.hermancain.com/ would be my choice for president. Oh, and he just happens to be black. Bonus!

[Josh Brown]

nobama and candycain are pansies. RON PAUL 08'

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