I posted the following on BrianR's blog View From the Island (on my blog roll).

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We're all assuming the only way to solve the problems of the world is to convince the liberals that they need to grow up and be willing to defend themselves and their families from evil (however it may be defined). The real problem is that these folks believe they're the grown ups and we're the children who need to be educated.

If both sides are convinced the other is wrong, neither will be able to "convert" the other and we're looking at a stalemate that could be deadly.

Those with any ability to think critically need to stop wasting time on bashing each other and find a common enemy larger than all of us--and I don't mean Islam (radical or not).

I have a candidate for that--an asteroid named Apophis. It's currently scheduled to shave us in 2028 (i.e. pass Earth within geosync orbit). If it passes through what's called a keyhole, on its next pass in 2036 (if I remember correctly), it will hit Earth with devastating results for civilization. If we actually did spend the 15% of the Federal Budget most people think NASA spends now on finding ways to deal with this very real threat to the future of humanity (to say nothing of the rest of the biosphere), dealing with Apophis would be a piece of cake.

Or, if that doesn't seem like a threat worth taking seriously, then how about a positive solution to the energy crisis that underlies the global climate change issue. If we spent that 15% of the Federal Budget on building the space-based infrastructure needed to build and support solar power satellites able to beam clean power to Earth, and thereby replace all power from fossil fuels and nuclear energy, we could easily do the job within a couple of decades at most (and be able to deal with Apophis as a sideline). We'd be well on our way to getting Earth's eggs out of one basket and into many around the solar system, thereby reducing to almost nothing the possibility that we might go the way of the dinosaurs.

Is it really too much to ask everyone to stop wasting time on envisioning the worst possible futures and start working on enabling the building of the best possible future?

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For the record, NASA's budget is well under 1% of the Federal Budget. Also, although I would, of course, prefer that private enterprise push space development--one of the enumerated purposes of government is the national defense, and given that the current projections of where Apophis could strike (given the worst case scenario of a strike in 2036) curve from the Gulf of Alaska southeast across Central America to the Caribean, we're looking at tsunamis that make the one in the Indian Ocean in 2004 look like a ripple in the bathtub. Can you say "massive damage to the left coast?" Or "Massive damage to the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the Eastern Seaboard?" Remember the tsunami in the movie "Deep Impact?" And that was caused by a small piece of a comet, not a large piece of asteroid (which may or may not be solid rock).

For more, check out Rusty Schweikert's testimony before the Senate subcommittee on Science & Technology here. For more about the B612 Foundation, click here. (Rusty made a presentation at ISDC 07, which is where I got the information about Apophis mentioned above.) Oh, and to see what will happen to California and Hawaii should Apophis (400 meters in diameter, apparently), strike in the Pacific, click here. (This is a Quicktime movie). And here's what will happen should Apophis strike in the Gulf. (For those not familiar with meters, multiply by 3 to get an approximate measure in feet.) These little movies explain why I'm not the least interested in moving to ocean-front property. Tsunamis up to 100 feet high make Katrina look like a tempest in a teapot.

And, of course, we have plenty at the National Space Society about all aspects of space development and why it holds the promise of enabling us to build the best of all possible futures.

Don't you think it's time we all woke up and got busy on something bigger than any of us--not to say all of us?

Ad Astra per Levitas Nostra!

Theresa

...about how to solve a whole bunch of problems at one fell swoop. The following is a letter sent to the editor of Space News by Al Globus. He is the chair of the Space Settlement Advocacy Committee of the National Space Society (although this is his personal statement, not written on behalf of the committee).

Think about it, folks. The solution to any problem is always to be found at a higher level of logic than the problem itself. Albert Einstein knew that. Now you do, too.

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 SSP: Let's Get Real

While I was very happy to see Jeremy Singer's July 23 article on 
space solar power (SSP), I thought it was, well, timid.  The numbers 
cited, a few percent of US electrical power by 2050 and 10% by 2060 
are a function of the effort expended and dates chosen, not anything 
fundamental.  With equal accuracy, he could, for example, have said 
that by 2100 SSP could supply all U.S. power with zero greenhouse gas
emissions.

The important facts about SSP are:

1.  Long term, it can supply not only all the power America needs, 
but all the power the entire planet needs.  In particular, every 
single resident of planet Earth could enjoy the energy use now 
reserved for the wealthy.  While this sounds radical, it's actually 
conservative.  The total space solar power available is 2.3 billion 
times the solar power available on Earth.  Obviously, only a tiny 
fraction need be gathered, which is fortunate since there are some 
practical problems :-).

2.  While there is some minimum time before SSP power is available, 
probably a decade or two, the timing of power availability is a 
function of the effort expended, which is currently pretty close to 
zero.

3.  While SSP can be built strictly from Earth, there are a lot of 
advantages to using lunar (or asteroidal) materials.  The energy cost 
for launch is about five times less and the environmental cost of SSP 
built from lunar materials is arguably the best of any power source 
-- the only competition being ground based solar and wind, neither of 
which is suitable for baseload power.

4.  Unlike nuclear power, SSP is not an attractive terrorist target 
and attacks on the space segment will be extremely difficult for non-
state actors to pull off for a very long time to come.

Clean, American controlled electrical power is far more important to 
US interests than the ISS and Lunar exploration combined, yet these 
receive billions of dollars per year and SSP gets one DOD official.   
Looking further afield, the U.S. spends a couple of hundred billion 
per year trying to control Persian Gulf oil, and is not doing very 
well.  With funding on this order SSP could be available very quickly 
indeed, with no need for flag draped coffins.

All that is needed to replace oil for automobiles is better batteries 
because electric cars are superior to internal combustion vehicles in 
every way, except the gas tank, which is a simple, problem free means 
to store a lot of energy.  Fortunately, batteries have an enormous 
market in cell phones, PDA, and laptops.  If the physics allow, this 
problem will be solved.  Thus, in the time scales necessary to 
product SSP, the energy could power our fleet of SUVs.

Right now NASA has marginal funding because it's doing marginal 
things.  Exploration and science are exciting, but not vital.  Clean, 
ample, American-controlled energy production is vital.  SSP can 
deliver it.  The problems are primarily technical.  We can solve 
them. Let's stop dinking around and do it.


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The dinosaurs were destroyed by an asteroid because they weren't 
space-faring. It's almost as if Gaia then thought "Well, dinosaurs 
worked pretty well, but space-faring is necessary.  Maybe I'll try 
mammals this time." Humanity is now developing systems to detect and 
deflect asteroids, and could build orbital space colonies to spread 
beyond Earth to ensure life would survive a planetary catastrophe.

Al Globus

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As always, for more information about how YOU can help, check out http://www.nss.org/.

Ad Astra per Levitas Nostra!

Theresa

 

...when KoB would engage in respectful debate with anyone. Congratulations, LeftisEvil, for enabling him to show his stuff properly.

I found the debate very interesting for its own sake, in fact. While I am not the scholar Left and KoB are, I long ago read at least part of Ludwig von Mises' tome, along with a variety of other books touching on economics and social contracts. Since then, I've spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out how to structure a society based on the idea that all power vests in the individual.

The first conclusion I came to is that if all power vests in the individual, then two or more individuals create either a cooperative relationship or a conflictive relationship. Therefore if any society of two or more individuals is to have any chance of survival, the individuals would need to agree on a framework for dispute resolution, including a means of strongly encouraging civility and cooperation and strongly discouraging conflict.

I've spent a fair amount of time over the last 40 years exploring the ramifications of this idea in a variety of novels, most of which are available through my website at http://sophiasystems.spaces.live.com/ under "My Novels."

I won't bore everyone with the details here, but would encourage you to check out particularly my novel "This Little Bit of Heaven" available at this link:

http://www.freewebs.com/phoenixlady/PR%20Presents%20Everything/Phoenix%20Rising%20Presents/Starfield%20Valley%20Tales/index.html

As I've said before, my world view is only valid for me (and only partially at that), so please do not take the theses of this or any other novel as an effort on my part to change anyone's mind about anything. These novels are mainly my way of visualizing--or perhaps fantasizing--a society on a small scale where I could be comfortable. I would be very interested to know if anyone else could find such a society comfortable, or if, as so many people have told me, it's an impossible dream (or worse).

After posting the above, I then read KoB's latest post in response to Left, and I have to admit, he makes a very good case for his world view--or more properly, what might be called principled anarchy, which is better characterized as a shared world view, as there are others who have used the same principles as the foundations of their world views.

As I see it, the reason societies grounded in the sovereignty of the individual haven't survived very long in the past is that we're still a very young species and very few of us have grown to the point where we can act consistently in a thoughtful and responsible manner. All too many people seek to control everyone around them in hopes (at least subconsciously) of controlling the rage they've stored up since the time they were children. As I've mentioned before, anyone interested in the difference between normies, who are generally responsible and able to grieve out their disappointments and losses, and non-normies, who are generally irresponsible and not able to grieve out their losses, should check out http://www.non-normie.com/. A principled anarchist like KoB, even though he doesn't suffer those whom he considers to be fools gladly, is at least a recovering non-normie, willing to make the effort to be consistently responsible, and to grieve out his disappointments and losses.

If he does choose to read "This Little Bit of Heaven," I expect he may be offended by the strong Christian bias (sorry KoB, I wrote it before I knew you existed). Other novels in the series deal with how other shared world views might deal with the concept of individual sovereignty.

Again, I invite all who are interested to check out "This Little Bit Of Heaven" and its successors. I welcome your comments.

This is in response to the article by Dinesh D'Souza about the Atheist Conundrum (available here).

I ran across this neat video a week or so ago. I invite everyone to take a look at it to see if it helps you get your mind around 78 Billion Lightyears--the size of the visible universe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBV-cXVWFw

And no, KoB, I'm not presenting this as evidence for anything one way or the other. I prefer to stay completely away from the argument about whether God exists or not because it's a waste of time. Reality IS, and we're all part of it. As far as I'm concerned, 'nuff said. Everything else is based on our extremely limited size and perceptual capabilities. What we know--or are even able to know--is so tiny compared to what we don't know (and may never be able to know, much less understand) that this whole argument about whether God exists or not strikes me as silly.

For what it's worth, my hypothesis is that God (regardless of religion) is the outward projection onto reality as a whole of our individual inner natures as beings with three brains (R-Complex, Limbic System and Cerebrum), three worldviews, and three voices. We developed this set of projections in response to the evolution of language and the adversary or observational position.

Since our R-Complex (Lizard brain) and our Limbic System (Monkey or Mammal brain) are intimately aware at all times of our places within our world spaces, and therefore of the fact that we are part of reality as a whole, the observational "separation" created by our cerebra terrifies them beyond describing. Our development of language and the observational position "apart" from reality has driven us insane as a species.

Religions are an attempt to heal that internal dissonnance. They all fail because for the most part, we have taken the illusion of separation from reality as being real, instead of the useful illusion it is. And it is a very useful illusion because it allows us to examine bits of reality as if from the outside--something reality as a whole can't do because it has no outside (at least not as far as we know).

This is, of course, only an hypothesis on my part, based on personal observation, study, and experience. Far be it from me even to suggest it has any validity for anyone else. I find it useful, but that's as far as I'm willing to go.

Meanwhile, when it comes to dealing with my immediate worldspace and all the fascinating people in it, I recognize the Golden Rule, stated as "You do to others what you expect them, consciously or unconsciously, to do to you" as a useful description of human nature and interaction.

I prefer to treat everyone with the same respect with which I would like to be treated. Part of the reason for this is that I've found that disrespecting others, even if they've disrespected me first out of their own internal lack of self-respect, is painful in the extreme (not to mention physically dangerous at times). It is a choice each of us makes all the time, and it is also based on the choice each of us makes all the time to accept or deny the fact that each of us is inseparably part of reality as a whole.

I will leave it at that, as it is way past my bedtime. Feel free to comment.

Here are links to more video from this year's International Space Development Conference.

Want to see some real space hardware? The View From The Top, my ezine, takes a look at Armadillo Aerospace's Pixel, their entrant in the NASA Lunar Lander Challenge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_cpbyL6x6U

The following links are interviews with a number of space advocates, some you know, and most you've never heard of.

Dr. Ben Bova, President Emeritus of the National Space Society.

Greg Allison, Executive VP of the National Space Society.

Tim Pickens, President of Orion Propulsion.

Robin Snelson, space activist and long time member of NSS (and the L-5 Society before that).

And Timothy Bendel, President of Frontier Astronautics.

More tomorrow or Sunday. Meanwhile, enjoy!

Ad Astra per Levitas Nostra!

Theresa

I've begun interviewing assorted folks attending the International Space Development Conference in Dallas, TX.

Here's the link to my video of Lon Levin, CSO of Transformational Space Corporation answering the question "Why Space." Lon was the keynote speaker at the Space Venture Finance Symposium May 24th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j7Tn9W6XaE

Enjoy! More to come...

Ad Astra per Levitas Nostra!

Theresa

As promised, I'm here at the International Space Development Conference in Dallas, Tx. While my husband was taking the JFK Assassination Tour (l'll let him post more about that later), I was hobnobbing with venture capitalists and CEOs of start up companies all talking about what the former want from the latter. Again, more on that later.

For those of you who don't know anything about the National Space Society, here is the link to a video I made yesterday at their booth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGbxvtSbrrU

I'll have more to share later today.

Ad Astra per Levitas Nostra!

Theresa

Check out this video. I've been learning how to make Windows Movie Maker do what I want it to do. Several months ago, I shared the words for "On Wings Like Eagles." Now I can share the words and the music. Unfortunately, you won't hear me singing because I'm still recovering from a nasty case of bronchitis. The rate I'm going, it'll be at least another month before I can even think of singing. It's hard enough to talk all day at work without coughing--though it is getting better.

Next week we'll be at the International Space Development Conference in Dallas, TX. While my husband takes the JFK Assassination Tour, I'll be attending a seminar on Space Venture Funding. I'll also be capturing video interviews of various folks telling you why space is important to them and what they're doing to make it possible for you to go live and work out there. (Or, if not you, your children and grandchildren.)

Watch this space, because I'll be posting interviews almost in real time. I may also do some actual live blogging for the edification of my fellow space enthusiasts.

Without further ado, however, here is that video.

http://www.youtube.com/v/_2K5X-Gjcrc

Ad Astra per Levitas Nostra!

Theresa Holmes, the Phoenix Lady
http://www.save4yourseat2orbit.com/

...to all my friends here at Townhall.

I haven't forgotten you. I've just been very busy working to organize my life and prepare for this year's International Space Conference, coming up Memorial Day Weekend. Have I got a treat in store for you!

This year's conference is in Dallas. Starting Thursday May 24th and at various times through Sunday, I'll be either live blogging or sharing video-taped interviews with a variety of movers and shakers in the field of space exploration, development, and settlement. We'll buttonhole everyone from Buzz Aldrin to General "Pete" Worden for their answer to why space is so important to them--and why they think it's important for everyone else.

Keep your eye on this space; I'll be posting more frequently now. Meanwhile, check out the SSTO (Save for your Seat To Orbit) Project here!

...everyone's been really busy and TH has been having major problems while I've been off creating a couple of new space blogs (among other things).

I just found out about Peppermint's "Juliet Smith's Diary" and spent the evening reading it (instead of leaving work to come home). With some serious attention to detail and crafting a plot line that shows consistency, this could be a bestseller (at least among the conservative blogosphere, if not all across flyover country). Think about it, Pepp. We need some fresh blood in the Tom Clancy political thriller genre.

You can read them here (if you haven't already).

Once upon a time, my husband and I set up a way for people to start saving for their seats to orbit called The SSTO (Save for your Seat To Orbit) Project. But alas, it was ahead of its time. But now, with "private citizen explorers" like Dennis Tito and Anousheh Ansari paying $20,000,000 each for week long trips to the International Space Station, and Virgin Galactic taking reservations for suborbital flights at $200,000 a piece, we decided to resurrect the SSTO Project.
 
If you'd like to learn more about it, just click here and sign up for your copy of "The View From The Top!" This ezine is absolutely free, and you can opt-out any time.

I look forward to hearing from you there!

I've noticed a very interesting (but probably not surprising) phenomenon. Those columnists who get the biggest responses are those that touch on some aspect of sexuality. The latest example is Michael Medved, with his column "Where Tim Hardaway Was Right," available here. At present, that article is showing 343 comments, of which I've read maybe 2/3ds. What I find interesting is how everyone is talking past each other.

I've referred everyone to www.non-normie.com numerous times already, but I strongly suggest everyone check it out again (especially if you haven't already).

Since the biggest argument on the thread hanging from Medved's article revolves around whether homosexuality as a lifestyle is good or evil, and folks on all sides have valid concerns, I thought I'd weigh in here with my take. It is not for me to say homosexuality as a lifestyle is good or evil. It's only for me to present for your review my vision/mission statement (developed in 1994 after reading Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Successful People." I call it The Delphian Way in its generic form (as opposed to my specific version).

The Delphian Way

I AM WHOM I AM supposed to be, doing what I AM supposed to do, RIGHT NOW!

All others are whom they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to do, RIGHT NOW!

What will be IS, and Time is the revelation of what IS to our wondering eyes.

I am Wisdom in the world. I exist to enable the revelation of the Heavenly City, best of all possible futures.

I do this by helping others learn how to enable their own best possible futures.

I do this as general contractor for my lifework, working with subcontractors all responsible for their own projects.

All tasks presented to me for execution today are bricks and mortar to be set with care in their proper places, no matter how insignificant they may seem to me or anyone else.

 

Read it, think about how it applies to you, think about how it applies to everyone else, and then decide if you're going to accept it as useful to you or not. I will only say it's served me well for going on 17 years now as a way of dealing with reality and all of the wonderful things in it--including every one of you.

I just posted the following on Rich Tucker's latest column, about Guiliani/McCain as Hillary's worst nightmare.

"Fortunately, we're still more than 18 months out from the actual election. There's still time for the political landscape to change dramatically.

For those who can't bear the thought of the H/B or R/J tickets, perhaps now is the time to start building your refuges in the wilderness instead of just complaining about the paucity of viable conservative candidates with any chance of winning.

I'd like to think there's hope for the survival of something resembling a constitutional republic in this country, but I'm not seeing much at this point.

As most of you probably know by now, I'm serious about enabling space development and settlement as a way to escape the onrushing destruction of Western Civilization by the barbarians on the right and the power-hungry cowards on the left. But there might not be enough time. The power-hungry cowards on the left have already started consolidating their power and will eventually decide that efforts by private enterprise to make access to space cheap enough for anyone to go must be stopped. (I posted on that last fall right after the election, so I won't repeat that link here.) If they win the White House in '08, those of us who are supporting space development and settlement might as well hang it up. The Chinese will be the only people willing to go--and once they're there in a big way, the rest of us won't have any chance at all of going.

If I sound rather depressed, well, these discussions are depressing. Fortunately, the election isn't going to be held tomorrow, because if it were, I expect Hillary/Obama would win walking away, especially against Rudy or John. But what I'm reading suggests I'd better get serious about my Plan B, encourage the sensible to start building small, self-sufficient communities out in the wilderness, off the beaten path. Two years is enough time to start that project.

But the big question is still how many of you are going to do anything besides protest vociferously the lack of choice?"

I admit, other than trying to design a little, self-sufficient village called South Park, Colorado (yeah, it's a joke), I'm not doing much. I don't have the money to buy property there, and no one seems the least bit willing to work with me to develop a network of small villages in the hidden places to serve as refuges for the sensible against the onslaught of the non-normies of all stripes. Why is that?

Guess I'll go back to working on space development projects for now.

I posted the following on Kevin McCollough's latest column.

 Yes, the Imams are Laughing at Us...

...and if you haven't read Tea With Terrorists (available online at http://www.teawithterrorists.com/), you really should. The authors aren't Tom Clancy, but danged if they don't come awfully close.

As for Baseballdoc's belief that it will take a nuclear holocaust to wake us up, well that depends on who's asleep. I'd have to say there are a lot more people awake to the danger than may be obvious, largely because the MSM has a vested interest in keeping a lid on the Truth.

There is an alternative to cutting off both heads of the beast, which is probably impossible, and that is for all the grown ups in this country (and elsewhere) to get serious about building Jacob's Ladder(s) and the Cities of Heaven (aka space settlements). There's not much time, but if everything that has been and will be already IS, there will be just enough time.

Alternatively, if I'm wrong (and I'm human, so I could be), then we should be building refuges for ourselves in the wilderness. Then, if the authors of "Tea with Terrorists" are correct in their interpretation of Scripture (in other works available on the same site), then we'll be ready for the harpazo, the snatching out, that is commonly referred to as the Rapture, some time in the early 2020's. After that, the rest of the world will go to hell for the time of the Tribulation.

Either way, we can either moan groan and complain about being laughed at, or we can do something sensible about it. I know what I'm doing about it. What about the rest of you?

If you're interested in what you can do right now, check out my Sophia Systems blog on the Blog Roll. I have links to a number of organizations working toward space development and settlement listed there, plus check out my slide show "How we can settle the Solar System in 3 Easy Steps."

I'm going to start including my email address, so if you have questions, please don't hesitate to email me. It may take awhile for me to get back to you, but I'll make it a priority to do so.

There are solutions to the world's problems, but they not all found down here on Earth.

...by Peppermint. Here are the rules.

"Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog."

My six weird things? Hmmm. It's going to be hard to figure out what the six weirdest things about me are--but here goes nothing...

1.) My goal in life is to retire to a place in space. Since I don't mean the Space Station, that means I not only have to design my ideal place, I have to help make it happen.



Painting by Don Davis courtesy of NASA.

2.) I started drawing horses when I was five years old, started writing science fiction when I was eight years old, and I've never stopped writing, doing artwork, making music, and waiting impatiently for technology to catch up with me so I can develop multimedia productions.

3.) I was raised a Unitarian and a Democrat, and turned into a Christian and a Republican in the early 70's, partly as a result of going Vulcan in high school and figuring out how to apply logic to everything.

4.) I've been married for 34 1/2 years to the same man--and I'm told that's weird and wonderful. I just think it's wonderful, nothing weird about it. It's called commitment and responsibility.

5.) I collect lions and tigers and bears (stuffed ones, that is). I have an almost full-sized stuffed lion on top of my entertainment center. I also love cats, and rarely have less than two running around the apartment.

6.) I prefer to do the things that are hard for me because the easy things aren't challenging enough, so I make my living providing phone tech support even though I'm half-deaf, and I'm involved in selling space development in the political arena even though I'm not a rocket scientist.

Is that enough weird things?

I'm going to tag the following folks, so ready or not, here I come...

1.) Jevica, A Conservative Man
2.) James Biga, Biga's Rant
3.) Clear Commentary
4.) D. D. aka Doctor Demex
5.) GregMC, Fighting For Our Lives
6.) Sam, Weedpatch Gazette