REFLECTIONS

In this issue: 1. Falcon 9 2. Blockade 3. Blowout
4. Haley 5. Videos

Howdy all, a few Interesting Items for your information. Enjoy –

1. Falcon 9. Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched its new, larger rocket, the Falcon 9 into orbit on June 4. The test flight was the first of a planned three flights this year. The rocket carried a dummy payload intended to simulate the Dragon capsule which will double as a cargo carrier and eventually a manned spacecraft. The launch was significant as it included an on-pad abort after engine start some 75 minutes before the second and successful launch attempt. Nobody in the industry has the ability to do this sort of a quick turn from fire in the hole, on-pad shutdown, and eventual successful launch less than an hour and a half after the abort. Texas Senator Kay Hutchison and Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, both representing states with large government funded NASA facilities, both gave suitably condescending statements following the launch. The Falcon 9 is the largest of the newSpace new launch vehicles, potentially capable of putting people into orbit. It is a Delta-IV / Atlas V class vehicle. SpaceX landed a $1.6 billion contract for space station resupply. All development money was private. They have created a new launch vehicle complete with new rocket engines from scratch. Their Dragon capsule is already under development. They are doing this with a total workforce of 1,000 people – development of the vehicle, the rocket engines, and the Dragon capsule. In contrast, LochMart has over 1,000 people working on the NASA-funded Orion capsule – just the capsule. This difference in manpower starkly demonstrates the difference between civil and entrepreneurial space. It is the reason NASA can no longer affordably fly people into space. It is a demonstration why the private sector must and will lead this nation off this planet.

2. Blockade. Things got a lot more dangerous in the Middle East last week after Israeli commandos stopped a flotilla of Hamas-friendly ships on the way to deliver supplies to Gaza. The lead ship was packed with at least 40 Al Qaida that attacked the Israeli commandos as they rappelled their way onto the deck of the ship. Ten of the vermin ended up dead. The ships were chartered by an Islamist “charity” based in Turkey. The Turks claimed that they had no control of the NGO before the flotilla sailed. After the boarding and violence, the Islamist friendly government of Turkey claimed it was their 9-11, with the Israelis in the role of Al Qaida. The Turks are now threatening to send the next fleet of boats with protection by the Turkish air force and navy. Unfortunately the Turks have swung Islamist over the course of the last decade, setting the stage for a conflagration in the Middle East in the not so distant future. The Obama WH, as usual took the side of Hamas, the Turks and Al Qaida, blasting the Israelis for their use of violence. The UN took a vote less than 24 hours after the event, basting Israel for defending itself. Fortunately, videos taken by the Israelis on scene and confiscated from the terrorists showed a very different event from what has been reported. Reuters got into the act by air brushing out all evidence of weapons wielded by attackers on the ship. This event is the first of what promises to be a very hot summer in the region as Iran has armed Hezbollah with long range rockets, potentially chemical munitions, and Egypt lifted its blockade of the southern border of Gaza so that they might rearm themselves more completely. As of this writing, it looks like Israel is on its own; that is until we change our government over here.

3. Blowout. Oil started hitting the beach in Louisiana and Florida last week as BP continued to try to stop the flow from the ocean floor. BP did have some success by cutting the riser pipe which will allow them to more easily install a capture device for oil and natural gas exiting the well pipe. At weeks’ end, they are starting to capture an ever increasing percentage of oil out of the pipe. The Obama administration finally gave permission for Louisiana to start constructing a few of the barrier islands to keep the oil spill out of the marshes and wetlands in southern Louisiana; a mere four weeks after Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal requested permission to construct them. As of this writing, approval for less than half of the artificial islands was forthcoming. Jindal also requested over five million feet of hard booms for the surface oil over a month ago. To date, he has received less than 800,000 feet. Late in the week, the NYT reported that Carol Browner had briefed Obama in late April of the magnitude of the impending disaster. The briefing said that the blowout would not be controlled until a relief well was drilled in August. If Obama and his administration knew about this from the very beginning, why did they slow-roll the regulatory and approval process? Why have they delayed construction of artificial barrier islands? Why have they delayed delivery of barriers? Limbaugh made a comment midweek that he believes that the WH has some internal polling that tells them that this will help them achieve their green agenda, and this is the reason for the delay. The only surprise here is that Jindal has waited on the feds rather than calling out the dredges on his own. Toward week’s end, the jackbooted thugs of Holder’s (In)Justice Department announced they were launching a criminal investigation into BP. In response, BP lawyered up. I wonder what the response would be if BP dropped all mitigation efforts, walked away, and started saying they were too busy preparing for the impending court cases brought by the Obama administration against them.

4. Haley. South Carolina politics is ugly. There is a lady running for the Republican nominee for Governor in SC named Nikki Haley. She is among the most conservative of several candidates and is currently leading in polling for the state primary tomorrow (June 8). Over the last couple weeks, she has been the target of some pretty vicious personal attacks orchestrated by the current SC LtGov, who has financial ties to a blogger that accused her of infidelity – essentially calling her a whore. As Haley (like Bobby Jindal) is of Indian descent, she has also suffered from the predictable name calling and not so thinly veiled race-based accusations. It is a real outrage when this sort of thing happens on the right. On the other hand, like NJ, apparently the good old boy network in SC was deeply entrenched, as corrupt as the day is long, and is not going down without a fight. The only good news is that should Haley win the primary tomorrow, the democrats are not going to be able to throw anything at her that she hasn’t already seen in the primary.

5. Videos. Ed Morrissey in Hot Air Friday wrote about a growing problem in Maryland and Illinois – law enforcement taking exception with being filmed while performing their duties. We live in an age when anyone with a digital camera or a cell phone can make a video of anything. As a result, it is becoming harder and harder for anyone to commit an illegal act in public and get away with it. There has been a flood of YouTube and Facebook videos portraying abuse by law enforcement officers in pursuit of their duties. As a response, in at least three states, with Maryland being one, it is now illegal to make a video of a policeman doing his duty in public. The legal fiction is based on wiretap and eavesdropping laws that do not allow a conversation to be recorded unless both parties agree that it can be recorded. In Maryland, Illinois and Massachusetts, you cannot make a video unless the police consents beforehand. Of course, nobody is limiting the police from making videos of traffic stops from their cop cars. In reality, there is an exception that allows making videos in public locations where no expectation of privacy exists. In practice, this exception is not being recognized in any of the three states listed above, which have been regularly arresting people who make video recordings of police actions. They seem to hide what they are doing. Nothing could be closer to a police state. Interesting that all three states are democrat bastions – heavily blue states.

More later — AG

“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
- Samuel Adams, speech at the Philadelphia State House, August 1, 1776.

Note: Interesting Items can be found also at the following locations: MatSu Valley News and the home page. Rod Martin’s The Vanguard site is also a long-time supporter of this column. Alex Gimarc is a long-time member of the previous Town Hall Conservative group.