Space Politics ? Briefly: Sentinel endorses Nelson; the Science Guy ...

Space Politics

Because sometimes the most important orbit is the Beltway?

October 22, 2012 at 5:41 am ? Filed under Campaign '12

The Orlando Sentinel endorsed Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) for reelection on Sunday over his Republican challenger, Connie Mack IV. The editorial cited Nelson?s role as ?a champion for NASA and Florida?s role in the U.S. space program? in its decision. ?A law he co-authored in 2010 wisely extended the life of the International Space Station and supported the development of commercial spacecraft, both positive developments for Florida and the space program as a whole,? the endorsement stated, a reference to the NASA Authorization Act of 2010.

Bill Nye, aka ?The Science Guy,? will be supporting the Obama reelection campaign Monday night on Florida?s Space Coast. Nye is slated to appear at a watch party in Cocoa, Florida, for the third and final presidential debate. Nye, the CEO of The Planetary Society, is also scheduled to appear Tuesday morning at a roundtable about STEM education at Florida Tech. The roundtable is not an official Obama campaign event, according to a release by the campaign?s Florida staff, but ?it is part of Mr. Nye?s trip in support of the campaign.?

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How can one be a champion of NASA and be a party to eviscerating it? Ideology trumps logic at the Orlando Sentinel.

On space policy (and in my view the rest of it) there is no alternative but to support Obama. Romney just lies?there is not a single position this year he fills like he cannot modify and then say ?well I never held that position??what a liar. RGO

It?s notable that the Sentinel highlights ISS and commercial cargo/crew, rather than SLS/MPCV, from the 2010 NASA Authorization Act in its endorsement of Nelson.

there is no alternative but to support Obama.

You are in excellent company: Chavez, Putin, the Mullahs, all support Obama. Maybe you should ask, why?

amightywind wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 9:37 am

?You are in excellent company: Chavez, Putin, the Mullahs, all support Obama. Maybe you should ask, why??

Not really. When one foreign leader endorses another it is usually in the hopes of pinging people like you?although in Vlad?s case (who is amazingly rational) in large measure I suspect it is because he must view Romney as any sane person does; a person who has no real clue as to the issues of the day?and Putin is really trying to negotiate a path to stabilize Russian/American relations?and stabilize Russia.

The return question is why would you support Romney? An idiot who says he would spend 2 trillion more dollars on the US military without any real reason as to why he can articulate other then the slack jawed comment ?it keeps us strong?

Goofy RGO

It?s notable that the Sentinel highlights ISS and commercial cargo/crew

A classic example of the frog boiling in the pot. The Orlando Sentinel has already accepted defeat in the Constellation Great Game, and looks now to protect more trivial parochial concerns over crony space.

An idiot who says he would spend 2 trillion more dollars on the US military without any real reason as to why he can articulate other then the slack jawed comment ?it keeps us strong?

The cataclysms in the Arab world, Russia?s aggression along its periphery, and, China?s aggression in Tibet, East Turkestan and the South China Sea are the direct result of the withdrawal of US power. No, Mitt is no idiot. But perhaps one who believes he can substitute the lever of US military might with the power his personality is.

(who is amazingly rational)

I just read that our hyper-rational partner in space just shipped those hooligan punk rockers off to the gulag archipelago.

Bill Nye, who inveighed against Obama cuts in planetary science and yet supports the man, is kind of like a battered wife, always going back to the abusive spouse.

? mike shupp wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 1:12 pm

C?mon Mark, get serious. Obama probably doesn?t look all that wonderful to people interested in planetary space programs, but Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are clearly much less attractive. There isn?t anyone IN THE WORLD making the argument that R&R want an improved planetary science program, or even any sort of planetary science program ? not even Romney and Ryan themselves.

You want to make a funny analogy, you ought to go the whole route with it. Bill Nye?s like an abused wife and Obama?s the abuser. And what?s Romney? A self-proclaimed ax murderer.

Mark Whittington wrote:

?Bill Nye, who inveighed against Obama cuts in planetary science and yet supports the man, is kind of like a battered wife, always going back to the abusive spouse.?

Yes. It seems Bill Nye, the Obama Guy, suffers from the space version of Stockholm Syndrome. He also seems to suffer from the mistaken notion that only Democrats support space exploration. Consequently, The Planetary Society writes off potential support (and membership dues) from Republicans who support space exploration. Given the demographics of the country, Republicans could account for up to half of The Planetary Society?s members. But I know more than a few people who have kissed Bill Nye ?goodbye? because of his blatant political bias. I dropped my own membership after growing weary of reading articles in the society?s magazine which contained far too much political content. I was interested in planetary research ? not Leftist propaganda. How much influence does Bill Nye think The Planetary Society will have in the Romney Administration after he (Nye) campaigned (again) for Barack Obama? Ditto for Elon Musk who has been effusive in his praise for President Obama and outspoken in his criticism of Governor Romney. Elections have consequences.

? Vladislaw wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 1:41 pm

Actually, Mark supporting people that are never EVER going to give him what he wants, in space funding, is a better example of the battered wife syndrome. Mark got beat up by Griffin and now he wants to get beat up by Romney, in the hopes he will reappoint Griffin to whip mark some more?. a regular political masocist.

? DCSCA wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 1:59 pm

@Mark R. Whittington wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 12:05 pm

=yawn= The Romney position is clear given his muddled rhetoric along the space coast and dissisive response to Gingrich during the primaries: a dead space program. Re-upping Obama is a holding patter ?til the two-term Clinto presidency beginning in ?16? or initiatives from another power ( go, PRC, GO!) launch out toward Luna.

but Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are clearly much less attractive.

I think that the public will find Romney and Ryan to be far more moderate than leftist propaganda would have us believe. That said, Mitt is a manager. I hope he sees an agency in need of reform, rather than the political sop it has become.

Bill Nye, who inveighed against Obama cuts in planetary science and yet supports the man

Those cuts were largely self-inflicted by the planetary science community, whose top Decadal priorities were considered by the Administration to be pretty much unaffordable. I think Bill?s Planetary Society, in inveighing against those cuts, has to understand that. That is, it?s one thing to jump up and down and complain about cuts. It?s another thing to argue with the rationale for those cuts. They haven?t done the latter.

Obama has specifically expressed excitement about and interest in planetary astronomy. Why, he was accused in this very forum of taking undeserved responsibility for Curiosity! Have Romney or Ryan ever said such words of support? Don?t think so.

William Mellberg wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 1:14 pm

?How much influence does Bill Nye think The Planetary Society will have in the Romney Administration after he (Nye) campaigned (again) for Barack Obama??

That doesn?t seem to affect the U.S. Chamber of commerce, which is a pretty right-wing organization at the top. Some organizations seem to attract people that lean more one way than another. How unusual. Once you start decrying too much right-leaning influence, then I?ll take your concerns seriously.

?Ditto for Elon Musk who has been effusive in his praise for President Obama and outspoken in his criticism of Governor Romney.?

When I Google ?Elon Musk and Mitt Romney?, what comes up first is Mitt Romney slamming Elon Musk?s Tesla car company. Sounds like Romney was picking a fight, but I didn?t see any beyond normal response from Musk. Where are you seeing the supposed criticism?

Mark R. Whittington wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 12:05 pm

Bill Nye, who inveighed against Obama cuts in planetary science and yet supports the man, is kind of like a battered wife, always going back to the abusive spouse.>>

the battered ?wife? syndrome is you?you and all the right wing people got hosed by Bush43 and yet you continue to push the rhetoric of that era. You wont admit you got it wrong about Iraq, Cx and all the other failures of the administration; you and others (including Romney) insist that Obama screwed up things that were terminal DURING the Bush administration.

Along the way you have pickedup the habit of misstating things?you were even telling Kolker how an embassy works and for heavens sake?HE IS AT ONE.

RGO

amightywind wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 11:32 am

The cataclysms in the Arab world, Russia?s aggression along its periphery, and, China?s aggression in Tibet, East Turkestan and the South China Sea are the direct result of the withdrawal of US power.>>

actually NO they are not.

US power cannot anymore stop local tides and changes then British power could frustrate American will in 1776 or Indian will in 1947 or ?.

The Chinese have as much right to a Monroe doctrine in their region of the world as the US does in ours. What happens in the Spratlys concerning the Spratelys is not a US problem anymore then what happens in Haiti is a Chinese problem.

As for the Arab world. Welcome to true ?regime change?. The Arab world suffered under the bipolar alignment of the US and USSR which kept in place long passed its time the colonial aspects of the region. We supported ?strong men? (as did the USSR) solely on buying their love?the local population be ?darned?.

Now for good and bad the locals are reshaping the map there to suit local desires and IT IS IN THE SPIRIT OF WHAT happened in 1776.

?withdrawal of US Power??20 carrier battle groups would not change the situation in the places you mentioned?all they would do is keep the MIC going.

It is a new world with new realities. RGO

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2012/10/coordinated-fac.html#comments

It is hard to do any better then what Keith does?

Scott Pace and E. Anderson wrote in Space News

??Unfortunately, American leadership is in jeopardy. Today we have a space program befitting a president who rejects American exceptionalism, apologizes for America and believes we should be just another nation with a flag. President Barack Obama has put us on a path that cedes our global position as the unequivocal leader in space. For the first time since the dawn of the Space Age, America has chosen to forgo its own capabilities for putting astronauts into space and instead relies on the Russians. The space shuttle?s planned retirement was known on the day President Obama took office, yet the earliest that Americans will again ride American rockets into space is 2016.?"

this is what kC wrote:

?What a pair of memory-challenged hypocrites.

Its rather odd that Space Adventures CEO Anderson would be party to such comments. in April 2010, when he was Chairman of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Anderson is quoted as saying the following about the Obama Administration?s space policy: ?This visionary plan is a master stroke. It?s exactly what NASA needs in order to continue to lead the world in space exploration in the 21st century.? In May 2012, on the occasion of the first launch of the SpaceX Dragon, CSF Chairman Anderson is again quoted, saying ?This is a testament to the viability of the commercial spaceflight industry ? Congratulations to SpaceX for successfully completing the first steps of this demonstration flight. Elon and his team?s success today is an important milestone in achieving a sustainable space program.?

My comments

the people in the Romney campaign are like Romney: liars RGO

? joe wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 4:41 pm

William Mellberg wrote @ October 22nd, 2012 at 1:14 pm
?Yes. It seems Bill Nye, the Obama Guy, suffers from the space version of Stockholm Syndrome. He also seems to suffer from the mistaken notion that only Democrats support space exploration. ?

William,

I believe in the past you have alluded to an historical knowledge of space activities (including budgeting) dating back quite a while.

So I have two questions for you. My own after the fact impression of the history of the whole humans vs. robots debate is that the robots only types have been promised (repeatedly by a number of politicians) that if they just support reductions in HSF funding that the money ?saved? would be transferred to the robotics accounts. But that never seems to happen. In fact when HSF funding is cut back the total budget goes down and the robotics program gets hurt as well.

- Am I correct in this?
- If I am correct, how many times have the robots only types played ?Charlie Brown? to some politicians ?Lucy with the football??

Joe asked:

?If I am correct, how many times have the robots only types played ?Charlie Brown? to some politicians ?Lucy with the football???

I cannot give you a specific (numeric) answer. But I tend to agree with your premise.

Personally, I have always been a strong supporter of both robotic and human spaceflight; and I do not think one should suffer at the expense of the other. But I also think robotic missions have always gotten the short end of the budget stick.

Human spaceflight seems to generate the most public excitement and support. But robotic spacecraft have yielded treasure troves of scientific information. When I look at my Astronomy 101 textbook (published in 1969), it is amazing how little was known about our Solar System at the time. Since then, robotic explorers such as Mariner and Voyager and Viking and their successors have added whole chapters where only paragraphs had been written. Moreover, I remember when my Father first became involved with the Surveyor project 50 years ago. At that time, no one could say for sure what the surface of the Moon was like (which, of course, was Surveyor?s mission). When you add the Hubble Space Telescope and the other space observatories to the list, the discoveries become even more impressive. NASA?s robot explorers have done some amazing things!

In any case, I agree with your point. I cannot recall robotics accounts being increased by any reductions in HSF funding. When NASA budgets go down, robotics get hit as much as (if not more than) human spaceflight.

This is why I still support Harrison Schmitt?s proposal of last year calling for the dismantlement of NASA and the creation of a new National Space Exploration Administration:

http://americasuncommonsense.com/blog/category/science-engineering/space-policy/4-new-proposal-for-nasa/

Note these lines in Dr. Schmitt?s proposal:

?The new Agency?s responsibilities should include robotic exploration necessary to support its primary mission. As did the Apollo Program, NSEA should include lunar and planetary science and resource identification as a major component of its human space exploration and development initiatives.?

Given the high cost of human exploration, I believe robotic exploration can and should play an even bigger role in our national space program.

@Joe:

Joe, I might add that Dr. Schmitt?s proposal for a new National Space Exploration Administration was used as the Prologue for his more extensive book about Space Policy. It can be downloaded from his website:

http://www.americasuncommonsense.com/blog/wp-content/pdfFiles/Schmitt_SpacePolicyAndTheConstitution.pdf

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