A reader, Bart Leahy, pointed out that Fox News is soliciting questions for a Republican presidential debate it’s hosting next week in South Carolina:
FOX News wants to know what you would ask the Republican presidential candidates when they debate in Columbia, S.C., on Tuesday, May 15.
Please e-mail your question to debate@foxnews.com. Include your name, town, state and contact number for verification. Please keep your question sharp, brief and to the point.
Leahy suggests submitting a question along these lines: “What will you do to ensure that the United States maintains its leadership in public and private space activities?” The hope is that “enough” space policy questions are submitted, the debate organizers will be compelled to use one in the debate. I’m skeptical, given that the volume of questions on hot-button issues is bound to be much greater, but perhaps the organizers will be looking for a little variety…
Hello,
I got here via CosmicLog. Sometimes timing is key to these matters. Here are a few comments on Space Exploration and its proponent/participants, as well as the solution to today’s Global Crisis. Politicians will do nothing but muddy the waters…get it while it’s fresh…right here…
http://smythspace.blogspot.com
How about the direct approach: “Are you willing to fully fund NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration?”
ciclops, the problem is, at least IMHO, the current VSE and ESAS doesn’t get us a whole lot. I’d much rather find out if/how they plan to help out commerical manned spaceflight.
Gee, too bad I’ve decided as a consumer not to give Fox any of my eyeball time. Their ‘news’ is just not the kind of entertainment I’m looking for, TV or online.
I also believe it is stupidly early to be concerning ourselves with the next Presidential election, as much as everyone is looking forward to it (myself included). There are a lot more pressing concerns we need to be occupying ourselves with, and the landscape of what a new President will face is going to be a lot different, even 12 months from now, which makes most of this current distraction little more than mental masturbation by the masses maintained by media manipulation of the message. Sure it feels good now, but really there is a more appropriate time for it when other concerns are knocking on the bathroom door.
1. I also won’t watch Fox ‘news’, for moral and patriotic reasons.
But for those who will….
2. I agree with asking them the gneral question on civil and private space leadership. The VSE is not exciting, nor sustainable as currently conceived; and it is also perceived by many to be solely a George W. Bush/Dick Cheney thing (and that’s not good). Let’s ask them the leadership question, and see what they say.
Well you don’t need to watch Fox to send an e-mail question or a letter telling them your position. How will they change if you remain silent vigilantes?
If you mean to effect change you need to directly hit the pocket book by aiming at the sponsors which would require some monitoring but this is slightly off topic.
Isn’t inaction how we got here? Thanks for doing nothing.
John,
I’ve actually contacted Obama and Edwards, asking their positions on both public spaceflight, and private spaceflight. The Edwards people said he’d be interest in going to mars, but didn’t really wanna say anything on how to fund it, and basically said “private industry is private”
Never did hear anything from Obama’s people
John,
I don’t expect to change that channel. I don’t care about them. I am denying my eyeballs to their sponsors, and I refuse to waste the time to send them an e-mail to add to the count that they show advertisers. I don’t watch TV at all, and I don’t visit their website. Nor will I correspond with them. I just don’t like their product.
I effect change all the time. On my terms (but in compliance with local codes and ordinances). Inaction is hardly a word that people would ascribe to me.
Another example of consumer choice is the local newspaper. In early 2005 they laid off a number of senior writers as part of a ‘refocus on the target audience’. The Science writer was one of these, and most of his underlings, including my contact there, jumped ship. Science stories became fewer and fewer in the ‘Lifestyles’ section, with a strong lean towards medicine (to the extent their writing can be considered ‘strong’).
Eventually they got moved into the Sunday A section, maybe half a page, then a quarter, buried deep in the double digits. Now if you go to the web page the Science & Medicine section is almost entirely medicine stories. On the other hand, Religion gets a 6 page section every Saturday, and religiosity is woven through much of the rest of the paper.
For a while I at least bought the Sunday edition for the coupons, but I’m sick of throwing away (read: recycle) 5 pounds of paper every Sunday so I just don’t buy the paper at all anymore. I’m denying them my consumer dollars, and my eyeballs for their advertisers. I get the news I’m looking for elsewhere, because the ‘corporate’ product is not delivering what I want. If they did, I’d buy it.
Furthermore, I noted that I thought the whole exercise in vetting candidates this early in the game was premature and a distraction, so why would I support it anyway?
You’re welcome for nothing. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got to get back to the conference… (silent vigilante my derriere…)
>Dave Huntsman wrote @ May 14th, 2007 at 11:35 am
>1. I also won’t watch Fox ‘news’, for moral and patriotic reasons.
Pretty much the same reasons why I DO watch Fox- stuck in England with a diet of BBC ‘balanced’ news it is a delight to view a broadcaster presenting a straightforward viewpoint.
But back to asking candidates about the Vision- maybe asking them for their support of COTS- or is that too difficult a message?
Ken
My statements weren’t directed at you, they were just in general aimed at people that do nothing. It was directed at people that complain all the time about many things but do nothing, not even vote. I’ve heard people use their dislike for something as an excuse for inaction as I’m sure you have many times.
I think most people here do a lot of our society both related and not related to space exploration. I wish the general media would focus more on people that expand our knowledge and improve our life. Sometimes I think there are so few.
The sky is not the limit nor are the stars…
With all the critizizing that each of you will do of each other, and in the end give Democrats ammunition in the general election, I am concerned that whoever wins the Republican nomination will be such damaged goods that they will not be able to win the general election. So my question is Why to you think you will be able to get the support of independents and some democrats in the country and actually be able to beat HILLARY CLINTON IN THE GENERAL ELECTION, as she will probably be the Democratic nominee.? And I’d like you to be specific and not hold back.
Thank you.
How far are you willing to let Iran go in re: to it’s Nuclear aspirations, and will you leave all options on the table, including Military intervention?
A reminder to Messrs. Sonenschein and Widrig, and others, that this is a space policy forum, and comments should remain on topic. Thanks for your cooperation.
Funny you should mention the media, as I’m working up an article right now on the media and what role they’re playing in America’s space efforts. It has to wait until after the ISDC so that I can get full input on the results of my efforts, but it will likely not be pretty.
I’m well familiar with the do-nothings from my conference preparations, amongst others projects. Lots of ideas, zero action (or worse, action requiring significant management). The thing is, volunteerism is voluntary and that’s something that the volunteer managers have to keep in mind as they go about the business of the organization. Anyone can walk at any time.
Same with voting – entirely voluntary, with no consequences for failure to do so. This is probably why the original vote was limited to landowners who had a clear, vested interest in the results with which they would be living. It’s also why only 50% or so of the electorate bother to show up these days.
Given that Clinton got in with about 47-48% of the vote, that means that less than a quarter of the electorate put him in office. Karl Rove understands this, and can put that together with the fact that some 30% of of the electorate is seriously, even fundamentally religious (versus the general 95% religiosity in the overall electorate), hearkening more to the plague and wroth G-d of the Old Testament than the lovey-dovey hippie-love message of the New (‘cept for Revelations). 25% is less than 30%. Align those interests and you have permanent political power. It’s not that difficult an equation.
Space is a marginal interest at best of that particular electorate. I’ve seen and felt the opprobrium for those who would tamper with G-d’s will by ascending to the heavens. As a Very Quiet Atheist I try to avoid such things, but I also got a look and wave of emotional fire this last weekend from a passerby who heard me explaining to a display visitor that the nickel-iron meteorite they held in their hand could be older than our Earth.
The politics in our country is very squirelly right now, and the media have badly poisoned the process in service of the dominant political parties. I wouldn’t expect any significant funding change to the status quo for NASA no matter who gets elected 18 months from now. There’s just not enough public constituency to effect any change. NASA’s not where the action is anymore, at least constituted as it is now.
I guess, John, that really the complaints need to be directed against those who don’t bother to vote, not those who don’t e-mail. I haven’t decided if they’re more worthy of pity or contempt for what they have allowed to happen to this nation. I also eagerly await the League of Women Voter debates next year. Now there’s a group I can have some respect for!