The McLaughlin Group 1211 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Suite 810 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 457-0870 http://www.mclaughlin.com
I just left a message advocating the NASA-funded competitive prizes proposal, and in time for the recipients to know to discuss the possibility and thereby help spark some reforms in Washington via their program (which many political types watch even during this current recess period). Isn't it remarkable that the NASA civil servants and government contractor clique haven't yet been able to coerce NBC into requiring that this subject remain taboo, at least on this show? Anyhow, here's something I also e-mailed to: comments@mclaughlin.com
Dear friends at the McLaughlin Group We're looking forward to the McLaughlin Group's show later today on NBC dedicated to "Shelving the Shuttle for good". Replacing the SHUTTLE is NOT that hard, no matter how much some with vested interests predictably try and caim: Just force NASA to offer far more adequate competitive prizes, resembling the privately funded (and therefore miniscule) $10 million dollar X Prize won by Burt Rutan last summer. NASA offers a few tiny prizes but none involving launching because we aren't adequately demanding it of them. For more information:
http://www.spaceprojects.com/prizes
And for some companies that would compete for Shuttle-replacement (or at least displacement) prizes, or support others that do:
http://www.SpaceX.com (owned by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk);
http://www.blueorigin.com/ (owned by Amazon.com co-founder Jeff Bezos);
http://www.scaled.com/ (Burt Rutan's company that won the XPrize: http://www.XPrize.org )
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/ (they need for affordable access to emerge to their upcoming space stations).
http://www.armadilloaerospace.com (electronic games-entrepreneur John Carmack's company)
Could this media breakthrough signal the dawn of the space age for ordinary folks like us?
I can't even watch this crap fest anymore. And to think I used to look forward to it.
I say send it out one last time...with the McLaughlin Group on it...with a one way ticket. Maybe Blankley can stay behind.
You aren't by any chance biased, are you?
There's no doubt in my mind that McLaughlin's dramatic lurch to the left is the only thing that keeps this worthless and irrelevant show on the air at PBS.
"Issue 3, Shuttle Scuttle Rebuttal, I ask you..............Mor-ton...."
But Soyuz can't get the job done. It doesn't have the heavy-lift capacity to finish the space station. And though Soyuz is a solid, tested (to say the least) program, I'm not comfortable with leaving manned space flight wholly dependent on the Russians.
Other than that, I'm with you -- fast-track, competitive bids for the next-generation craft. There's a good argument that heavy-lift cargo and crew transport should be two separate programs -- we need tractor-trailers, but it isn't a sensible vehicle for my daily commute.
Assuming that they can solve the foam problem, I'd keep flying the shuttle until the station is finished, but fast-track the replacement(s). There's no good reason we shouldn't have been looking to replace the shuttle at least ten years ago.
Pompous asses bloviating.
The McLaughlin Group is about as qualified to pontificate upon the Shuttle program as a petrie dish full of bacteria is qualified to discuss "culture" (groan).
Tony needs to find himself a classier program to be affiliated with.
McLaughlin is one of the most moronic, narcissist "personalities" currently on the tube.
However, deflating the space balloon should be the goal of everyone. It has been turned into a bureaucratic group of fumblers that throw money at every problem and generally without results.
