Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday night's debate between Republican wannabes in Florida was as
exciting as a shuffleboard match between rival retirement communities.
Romney put his finger squarely on the big issue: "I think it's important
for people to make sure that we don't castigate individuals because theyve
been successful," an apparent reference to the millions revealed in his
federal financial disclosure statements. But Romneys millions are not a
measure of his business success. Hes rich because he was born rich in a
country with shamefully regressive tax laws. Indeed, much of Romneys
wealth is in blind trusts, as it should be for every independently-wealthy
public servant.
Newt Gingrich, the other top contender, wants to construct a permanent
human base on the Moon before China does. In fact, Gingrich says he would
like to see six or seven lunar launches every week. Doing what? It's been
40 years sincea human traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Since then, space
has become an essential element of the fastest growing segment of our
economy: Space communications, weather observations, remote viewing, global
positioning, climate monitoring, exploration of the solar system, the
discovery of exoplanets, and global climate change studies, are all
robotic. Nothing of significance has been learned from human spaceflight.
Apollo itself was a political mission. The space shuttle was terminated and
the ISS, which produced nothing of value, now belongs to an international
consortium. For an American astronaut to visit the ISS, a ticket on a
Russian rocket would have to be purchased. We already have a word for those
who clamor to send Americans back to the moon: "lunatics." It's a popular
idea in Florida, which lost a lot of space jobs. Mitt Romney warns that the
Gingrich plan would be "an enormous expense." It's worse than that; it's
insane. Gingrich says his Moon base would be "90% private sector." How do
you persuade the private sector to get involved in something as useless as
a Moon base? Gingrich says he will offer incentives to the private sector
in the form of "prizes" for meeting specific technical goals. Is a prize
cheaper than a contract?
To compete with the other 7 billion inhabitants of our planet, the 312
million citizens of the United States must maintain a high level of
education in every field of human endeavor, but particularly in science
which leads the drive for change. On Friday, Pres. Obama proposed a plan of
incentives to reduce college tuition costs. However, the plan would require
congressional approval and Republicans object to adding expensive new
proposals at the time of spiraling national debt. There are countless
issues involving questions of fairness, church and state, and academic
standards that would have to be worked out. This could emerge as one of the
most compelling issues of the coming election.
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