Posted on 01/29/2012 9:30:10 AM PST by FreedomFighter1013
While Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has been mocked repeatedly by his chief rival, Mitt Romney, there is a compelling series of arguments to be made for returning to the moon, this time in the form of a permanent Lunar colony. Indeed, the Lunar colony idea had been articulated by President George W. Bush in 2004 and was based on solid research developed by many serious thinkers in the space community. It had also been ratified by 2 different congresses, in 2005 and 2008. In fact, the first lunar colony was planned in the mid-1960s, called ALSS (Apollo Logistics Support System) Lunar Base and was cancelled in 1968.
Nevertheless, the recent $5-plus trillion run up in our national debt over the last 3 years have made many people less expansive in their thinking when it comes to space exploration for exploration's sake, that is without a concrete, read: commercial, application. more here
(Excerpt) Read more at gregcontreras.blogspot.com ...
If spending $50B on a moon base could reduce by $50B the money spent on some of the worse government programs, that would be a net win even if the moon base efforts proved totally worthless. Letting the money stay in the hands of the productive citizens who earn it, or letting it remain available for investment elsewhere, might be even better, but Democrats certainly wouldn’t want that.
If we could get the “stimulus” (slush fund) money back from all the Obama friends that it was given to, we could build a base on the moon and probably Vesta too.
I vividly remember watching Neil Armstrong stepping onto the surface of the moon. It was a late night for an eight year old, but my father said I would tell my grandchildren about seeing the first man walk on the moon. The next morning, Miss Baird freshly decorated the entire classroom (It was a summertime art program) in an Apollo theme, with “A SMALL STEP FOR A MAN, A GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND” in proud block letters above the front chalkboard. It seemed that we were accelerating toward a bright future in the heavens. Yet, humans have not set foot on the moon since 1972. Has mankind simply stumbled after such a great leap, or have we put the tools to reach for the stars outside of our collective grasp?
The Tools to Tame An Undeveloped Expanse
Economic development using only available raw materials located in an undeveloped environment was once central to the national consciousness in the United States. European monarchies made initial capital outlays to explore the west. However, expenditure by national governments did not develop the new world. Economic innovations such as the corporate form enabled almost any entrepreneur to access sufficient capital to finance journeys for commercial benefit. The great fortunes that ensued coincided with increased average longevity, greater knowledge and technical innovations, all of which greatly enhanced the aggregate quality of life of mankind.
In America, the lesson of permitting the free access to capital became central to our national consciousness. One of our first lessons was the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which nearly winked out of existence. After the starvation deaths of many of the Pilgrims, Governor Bradford suspended the provisions of the Mayflower charter requiring the colonists to turn over all production into a common store. Instead, each family received a plot of land to work and manage. The year following resulted in such abundance, that the colonists feasted in thanksgiving to the Lord. Our national day of Thanksgiving is still celebrated today.
Sadly, the mostly unrestrained entepreneurism that forged the expansion and construction of the United States has been a target for many who seek to provide for even greater good. Yet, nearly every attempt to legislate egalitarian ideals has resulted in the restriction of the free access to capital for entrepreneurs. The inevitable result is lost opportunity and economic stagnation.
So, has mankind stumbled or stagnated, when it comes to reaching toward the moon? What follows may surprise you. As you read the following selected quotes from the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies of 1967, you should ask whether you, as an investor, would place the extremely high risk portion of you portfolio in a venture where there is no private property, where there is no privacy and where disputes are resolved by the U.N.:
Article I
The exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.
Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.
There shall be freedom of scientific investigation in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and States shall facilitate and encourage international co-operation in such investigation. Article II
Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.
* * *
Article XI
In order to promote international co-operation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, States Parties to the Treaty conducting activities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, agree to inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, of the nature, conduct, locations and results of such activities. On receiving the said information, the Secretary-General of the United Nations should be prepared to disseminate it immediately and effectively.
Article XII
All stations, installations, equipment and space vehicles on the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be open to representatives of other States Parties to the Treatyon a basis of reciprocity. Such representatives shall give reasonable advance notice of a projected visit, in order that appropriate consultations may be held and that maximum precautions may be taken to assure safety and to avoid interference with normal operations in the facility to be visited.
Article XVI
Any State Party to the Treaty may give notice of its withdrawal from the Treaty one year after its entry into force by written notification to the Depositary Governments. Such withdrawal shall take effect one year from the date of receipt of this notification.
The solution for stimulating a stagnating reach for the stars should be obvious to our policy makers. Massive expenditures by central governments may be the right formula for proving that great feats of exploration can bear fruit. However, for sustained activity in undeveloped expanses to take root, entrepreneurs need free access to capital. This includes private property and ownership of land. Without it, the Massachusetts Bay Colony would been nothing more than a historical footnote and Thanksgiving would have no meaning to Americans.
The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies of 1967 is toxic to the exploration and economic development in the heavens. An amendment to include grants of celestial private property or an outright treaty withdrawal will be the first step toward equipping American entrepreneurs with the tools they need to reach for the stars.
In a true free market economy without the shackles of socialism, this would have been accomplished by now. Every bright mind in the world would’ve been attracted to come here and make it happen with the tons of private sector funds out there.
Instead, you have trillions upon trillions of dollars going to social programs that only piss away money and create only dependency and more waste.
Trillions alone have been spent on worthless affirmative action programs for minorities and to this day blacks are still far behind the rest in terms of education, net worth, employment, etc. America has shackled itself with socialism.
Thanks FreedomFighter1013.
Obama has single handed killed the US space program and help fill our schools with mediocre union teachers more concerned with political correctness, the pseudo science of global warming and making sure that kids never have to compete least they "feel bad" than teaching them math and science.
Posters like you always expose their agenda in the posts they make. Tell us how you know Newt was ‘unable’ to give commercial reasons. And you might also show us proof that Newt Gingrich believes in the fictional ‘cold fusion’.
IMHO, Obama is only a blip on the screen, a bump in the road of the glorious history of America: that is if this year we stand and fight for the right people to lead: Newt
I agree 1000%
Jobs...Let’s have all the parts manufactured HERE...and let’s change the corporate tax structure to make it feasible.
Next thing you know...he'll say no computers for school kids...right?? Yeh right!!
yep
Yeah,well, if you’re talking about computers for children to have, let the parents or charitable organizations bear the expense. Around here, the schools want to just hand them out. They rather quickly get lost or trashed. The kids have no respect for the pcs because they were given to them, not by their parents, but by the government.
Since Liberals are so good at targeting specific taxes at groups whose interests they want to attack, and they see that as a legitimate use of the government’s taxing authority, then lets take a snap shot of the nation’s registered voters, as of November 2012, and place a $50 billion tax on all registered Democrats, apportioned “progressively” based on income, and fund the moon base project with it - from each according to his ability (Democrats hold more wealth in the nation than Republicans) to each according to his need (none, they’re useless).
Newt was right when he said US should put up a prize and private companies would compete to achieve success in space. The remark “No success no prize. Nothing lost!”.
This is what he meant.
http://www.xprize.org/
http://www.virgingalactic.com/overview/
http://www.space.com/1226-rutan-white-knight-carries-37-space-plane-aloft.html
1961 JFK’s speech would be enough for Robamney to have fired him if he was CIC. Those with no eyes to the future are not what we want leading this country.
First graders are marched off to the lab to draw a box on a computer. Pretty stupid and totally disgusted.P>Go back to basics. Kids can;t spell. They can’t make change. Their vocabulary is ttyl and roflmao.
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