Obama kills NASA's Human Arm - Private Sector Must Carry Torch

It is official. The American Space Program, a dream inspired by the likes of John F. Kennedy himself, has been killed today as a non-essential government expenditure. The Obama administration has announced that it will defund the Constellation Program, the follow-on Human Space Flight Program intended for lunar colonization. FoxNews reports:

The key elements of Constellation include the Orion crew capsule, its Ares 1 launcher, a larger rocket dubbed Ares 5 and the Altair lunar lander. Obama's top-line spending proposal for NASA is expected to increase slightly over the 2010 appropriation of $18.7 billion and would including some funding for an alternative means for transporting crews to and from the international space station

Facing a federal deficit of $1.26 trillion in 2011, Obama is proposing a three-year freeze on most non-defense discretionary spending, a move the president believes will save $250 billion over the next 10 years, Orszag said. In addition, the White House is proposing more than 120 program terminations, reductions and efficiencies that together are expected to save $20 billion in 2011, Orszag said.

While Obama is picking off major programs at $20 Billion a pop, he is still pushing an increased expenditure on the order of a trillion dollars. I digress.

As I stated in my previous post regarding the early reporting of this information, I applaud the cancelling of the NASA Human Space Flight division (though here I found it to be a bad idea). This is said as a former employee of Lockheed's Ares/Orion team. The program was a mess - extremely overbudget, attempting to make a horribly designed system work. We have Mike Griffin to thank for that - but we have NASA to thank for driving impossible requirements changes, making a state of the art system nothing more than a "larger Apollo" on an underpowered candlestick. We were heading the wrong direction... and instead of throwing money at a bad Government Problem - me, like any like minded fiscal conservative and libertarian should embrace the surrendering of a government agency to the free market.

Could Obama have simply directed the cancelling of Ares I and embrace Ares 5 as a multi-purpose Moon/Mars launch vehicle? Should he have? Or is this the motivation the private sector needs in order to begin the free market colonization of near and far space? Let's take a look at what is on the horizon:

1. Space X is within 1-3 months of the inaugural flight of the Falcon 9 - a private, green, and reusable launch vehicle built with the intention of human passengers. They are already in full scale production and have a launch manifest planned out to 2015 covering over 26 flights of varying payloads. SpaceX, owned by Google, has drastically reduced launch costs - estimated at a 90% cost savings over NASA programs, while focusing special attention on safety and reliability. This private sector innovator stands at the ready to take immediate ownership of NASA astronauts, and is slated to act as a launch platform for prefabbed/inflatable space infrastructure built by Bigelow Aerospace.

2. Virgin Galactic, though not able to attain full orbit, is nearing the end of their test flight phase for their sub-orbital commercial space vehicle. Private citizens, the first space tourists, can catch a ride on the ship for a mere $200,000. I am sure that full orbital trips will be just around the bend.

3. SpaceDev is working with Lockheed Martin and Boeing's United Launch Alliance in order to man-rate their Delta and Atlas launch vehicles. I wonder, however, if a collapse of NASA Humans Space Flight, if "man rating" will be a necessary regulation for future start-ups. This falls under the realm of "how congress reacts" - if a launch vehicle is safe, reliable, and has a great service record - what more do you need to 'over-engineer' the launch vehicle for human safety?

In short - this is the perfect opportunity for the private sector to shine. We can smack Obama around for cancelling the JFK Moon Dream, and chastise him for putting America behind the Chinese or the Russians (the only two countries in the world capable of currently launching humans to orbit - after our remaining three launches this year exhaust our Shuttle fleet). But what we are bearing witness to in our protest is the hypocrisy of our "cause" - that is, give up government bureaucracies - so long as you don't touch the things WE want you to keep. Obama should take notice of his own maneuver, and don't stop until Education, healthcare, identification and the like are off the payroll of the federal government.

We stand, dear readers, at the beginning of something grand. So long as private ventures see a profit or need in Human Exploration - it will be so. This is our opportunity to take the government to task and do it right! Instead of writing your congressmen, write the start-ups like SpaceX and ask what you can do to invest and help drive human space flight on a private level. In the mean-time, write your representatives and remind them to keep their regulatory paws out of what will be an explosion in private space exploration.

Democrats Angry Over McCain Tactic - Exposing Obama

In talking with Democrats and Independents who are starting to take notice of the presidential campaign, there is a general sense of unease regarding "the same old political moves" - which is how Obama is countering McCain's attacks.

But is McCain attacking, or using satire to finally get people talking about Barack? Obama has been given a free pass by the MSM News Corps who have been unwilling and unwanting to question Obama's ability to lead, his political gaffes, his personal acquaintances, the things he says, the things his wife says, etc etc. There has been no debate of substance... only a pre-anointing.

Also, whereas Obama refuses to meet McCain one-on-one to discuss the issues in a town-hall style debate, McCain is forced to bring the debate to Obama. And this tactic is working. Obama has lost a major lead in the national polls (see daily tracking graph), and Rasmussen's daily poll is showing McCain leading Obama 47% to 46% (including those "leaners" who are yet undecided).

McCain is attempting to show how bizarre the love relationship is with Obama and the media, and Obama with himself. Watching this McCain ad, titled "The One", shows a series of Obama speeches in which he declares himself the savior of the nation and the savior of the world. Someone who believes that he does no wrong, and can do no wrong is someone we should all fear as a leader of this nation.

Specifically, Obama and his supporters are outraged that McCain would release an ad suggesting that Obama is responsible for inflated fuel prices. The ad asks who is responsible, then a chanting crowd yelling "Obama... Obama" with Barack's picture comes up... The question is not if Obama is directly responsible... it is the politics of him and his party... the very party willing to let gas prices reach $10 a gallon without any action to allow the free market to provide supply in an attempt to stabilize speculation. Obamanites don't see that Obama is wrong on energy - taxing "windfall profits" for distribution to the people. This plan will increase fuel prices - taking money away from oil companies who need profit to expand production, and distribute the money in the form of a rebate - ultimately making it impossible for the oil companies to increase production in the US.

Look - I have not been a huge fan of George W. Bush recently, setting a precedent for "rebate entitlements"... giving money where no money is earned... and doing nothing to curb spending in DC or to minimize the growth of government. He has dropped the flag of the Republican Party, and forgotten the marching orders of limited government and lower taxes. But where Bush stops, Obama is going to continue... using big government ideas (and the battle-cry of entitlements) to solve the problems in this nation. Never have I witnessed the government solving a problem better than the innovative free market... It is impossible... Unless that task is to tax and regulate thought and action through taxation.

So if McCain is forced to bring Obama out of the media shadows and into the light by using satire and controversial methods... so be it. The tactic is working. Americans are starting to educate themselves, and they are noticing that the textbook of Obama is clearly lacking content!

(Take a look at some of the other McCain ads currently being released)



and finally, my favorite:

The Death of Establishment Politics?

The new buzzword from the lips of the establishment political mouthpieces is no longer "islamofascists"... well, at least not during the election season. The new buzzword is "populism"... but trust me on this, the use of the word is meant to invoke the same fear and emotion!

The reason that this word is causing fear is that the people are speaking, and they are finally united in one effort: Get rid of politics as usual. One thing is for sure, politics in America will never be the same after 2008! At least if the trends continue.

The establishment candidates are falling faster than those poorly animated ducks in Nintendo's Duck Hunt... That hunting dog has his work cut out for him as he has to run around picking up nose-diving establishment candidates.

And if one pays any attention to tracking polls, you can clearly see that the populous was wearily supporting the establishment candidates, because the Media declared that they were the only viable candidates in either party. But, as the polls show, the first sign that there was even a hint of viability in another candidate, the establishment lost the wheels on it's bandwagon! (See the red arrows in the picture above... nose-dives indeed!)

Since 2006, the media has been building the next Royal Rumble... Hillary Clinton facing off on the national stage against Rudy Giuliani... pollsters and pundits have written books about this clash of the titans, made millions, and had nearly handicapped the 2008 race for us...

So was this anticipation the straw that broke the camel's back? Was it the grinding in on "viability" politics that finally made the people throw their hands in the air and declare "ENOUGH!"? I think so... I think the quasi-subdued citizens, distracted by American Idol and Top Model, were motivated by something different... and the tools of motivation made these citizens more accessible.

That is right... The death of the establishment politics, and the rise of populist politics, is due to the internet. The last vestige of free speech... and I mean free in that you can send powerful messages (via YouTube, e-mail, MySpace, Facebook) for FREE. No money required. That means candidates can focus on getting their messages out to millions of citizens at the cost of ZERO...

Then enter the bloggers... the most effective and passionate grassroots effort in American Politics... perhaps in history... capable of causing a revolution within our government without firing a single shot... The perfect example of the David v. Goliath... the Bloggers taking on the Major News Outlets... Communication amongst the people, giving rally cries, circling wagons, reaching out to one another, and waiting for our chance to pounce.

No longer are we restricted to the newspaper reading over the coffee table, where we are limited to bouncing our ideas and opinions off of our significant other... Now, each and every citizen has a forum... and we are excited about it.

Now that we are able to see our results, the impact that we have had, the downing of the establishment candidates... politics in America will never be the same. Empty campaign promises, negativity, gaffes, and slips... they will all be reported, they will all be discussed, they will all be scrutinized... because, in our lifetime, we have seen the beginning of the populist movement, when the people... WE the people... have decided to take our government back.

Let's see what happens after tonight... but I am willing to bet the farm that the trends continue, and that the pundits will be left scratching their heads over two obscure dark horse candidates getting the nod, and heading into the general election.

Change to blog name...focus remains the same

I have changed the name of the Blog from "Conservative Issues, Conservative Guy" to "The New Conservative"...

The previous title, I thought, limited the scope of my articles, and/or gave a preconceived notion as to what my thought process was: as a "conservative".

But as I have been continuing my education as a leader, in the Leadership Program of the Rockies, I have determined that labelling myself as THE Conservative Guy discussing Conservative issues was not entirely accurate.

In our last class, we discussed a model of the political field that was split into five categories, shown below with the percentage of Americans who also fit into the categories...

The left to right resembles the apparent location on the political spectrum. The first category is the one in which your belief is that regardless of work in, the output should be the same for everyone (i.e. socialism). Care & Fair represents the fundamental belief that everyone should have the same opportunity, and believes in social progress. Economy voters are pocketbook voters, and will vote on the basis of Jobs, taxes, and the economy first. The Order group are those who will vote on social order first (i.e. immigration, national defense, anti-crime). And the Faith group are those who vote based on faith related issues, and as such, are the very social conservatives.

We were then asked to fit ourselves into one of the categories...

I struggled with my decision, because my stance (politically) is an issues based stance... and as such, I had to select the "Care & Fair" category... Because I care about the issues, as well as the people that the issues effect. But that does not mean that I do not care about issues such as Life and Marriage, that are key to the Faith group... or that Immigration and National Security are not very important to me... or the Economy for that matter... I believe that all these issues are important, and can be handled in a way that is RIGHT, morally not just politically. And that is where the Care and Fair comes into play... doing what is right is to do what is not easily defined, sometimes...

As such, I began to think about the shifting political field, from the SOCON and FICON stances, into the Care and Fair group... I believe that there are those of us who fully embraced George W. Bush's "Compassionate Conservative" stance... And the compassionate conservative is one who doesn't fit easily into one of the above categories, but spans the spectrum of the four on the right... We are complicated, motivated, and changing the way the political game is being played.

I am a New Conservative... Compassionate yet Logical... Caring and able to Reason past Emotion. And I am looking for answers to the problems of the world, in a way that heals this nation's divide. I believe in personal responsibility and moral obligation... obligation to ourselves, our fellow man, and our planet... But obligation that is not to be forced by government, rather led by Divinity, and free will. I believe that government is not the answer to our problems, rather the source... and the only solution is the moral high-ground...

I say, "Let's do what is RIGHT... let's think vertically"... and that makes me a New Conservative.

Barack Obama a Space Cadet on Space Issues

Our friends over at Spacepolitics.com have written an article about Barack Obama, and his plan to fund his socialized education plan by cutting the very thing that would drive innovation in science and technology, the US Human Spaceflight Programs. That is right! Barack Obama wants to stop sending US Astronauts to the ISS, the Moon, or any research for Mars. Well, at least until the end of his second term, and then some. He has suggested the transfer of all but $500 million (the cost to mothball the manufacturing capabilities) of NASA's manned space flight budget to his socialized education plan.

What he does not realize is that I would lose my job, as I work on Project Orion (the crew portion of the Constellation Program). As well, many aerospace companies who have invested hundreds of millions, if not billions, will be out of business and unable to just maintain a holding pattern until 2020. Business does not work that way... perhaps NASA could survive... but by that time we lose any hope of gaining technical expertise from any Apollo era engineers or astronauts, which has been a saving grace for the Constellation program thus far. To pick up the pieces in 2020 would mean that the US will be unable to launch a man into space for 10-15 years. We would not make it back to the moon before 2030-2040. And we will never make it to Mars.

If I needed one more reason to vehemently oppose Barack Obama as President, well, here it is!

A man with no foresight when it comes to the importance of the technological sector of the economy is little more than a buffoon.

Read the article below:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama released today the
education plan he would enact if elected. The full 15-page plan includes a variety of proposals, including reforming early education programs. The last section of the plan, titled “A Commitment to Fiscal Responsibility” explains how he would pay for these initiatives. The passage of relevance here: “The early education plan will be paid for by delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years,” among other steps. According to MSNBC, Obama would leave in place $500 million/year for Constellation’s “manufacturing and technology base”, but would otherwise transfer the funding to the education effort. None of the campaign’s official statements or other media reports indicate any alternative measures the campaign would take to address what, on its face, would appear to be a five-year delay in the introduction of Ares 1, Orion, and the other main components of NASA’s current exploration
architecture.

(A potentially ironic item, depending on your opinion on the importance of Constellation: one other section of the Obama education plan is titled “Make Math and Science Education a National Priority”.)

The Republican National Committee has criticized the move to delay Constellation, The Hill reports, quoting RNC spokesman Danny Diaz: “It is ironic that Barack
Obama’s plan to help our children reach for the stars is financed in part by
slashing a program that helps us learn about those very same stars.”

This would spell disaster for the leader in world space exploration. And though there is a push for privatizing space, the industry has been held back so long that we are not able to pick up the pieces and send man to space privately right away. This would still leave the US without the means to send man to space.

This may seem like small potatoes, but when China and India are preparing for moon missions by 2020, we cannot delay our own efforts.

The problem with America is the lack of drive to speak out until it is too late... This is a case where it will be too little too late.

Write your local congressman, call Barack's campaign, call a talk radio show. Get the message out that sacrificing the Human Space Program is not an option.