Launching Spacecraft From Airplanes

Not just any airplane - the biggest airplane in history.  And not just any spacecraft - the new rocket from Space Exploration Technologies, a private corporation developing everything from orbital vehicles for NASA to commercial passenger vehicles.

The record-breaking plane, which will have six engines and twin fuselages, is being built to carry a rocket to 30,000 feet. From there, the rocket will drop from the plane and blast into space. The first payloads will consist of satellites and other cargo, but the program's backers say the rocket will eventually carry passengers. The Roc will be a flying launchpad—government and private-sector customers welcome.

If the concept of behind Space X's new launch vehicle seems familiar, that's probably because it's very similar to - even if far larger than - Scaled Composites' Space Ship One and its launcher, White Knight.  In fact, Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled, is on the board of Space X.

In a related note, the era of government-monopolized space travel is over.  The private, for-profit space race is now in full swing, and Reason TV is glad, as am I.

Do Women Earn Less Than Men?

Short answer: yes.  But not for the reasons most people assume.

Fisker Lays Off More American Workers

Obama-Biden crony corporation Fisker laid off even more American workers.

On Friday, Delaware Online reports, 12 more workers – including engineers and maintenance technicians – were laid off at the plant, leaving "only a small maintenance team" left there. One of those let go was Jeff Garland, who had been working on community affairs and business development efforts in Delaware. He said the plant is currently "absolutely empty." This is because Fisker has taken out the old GM equipment but has not yet installed the machines it would need to build the Atlantic.

Again, if Pres Obama invests his own money in failing "green" ventures, that's his business, but that's not what he did.  He invested your money and mine - half a billion Dollars of it.  Did he ask your permission?  He didn't ask mine.

David Axelrod is Right

In a rare occurrence, Obama adviser is absolutely, unintentionally, hilariously right.

You Tax Dollars (Not) at Work

Take a look at this picture of yesterday's Senate Budget Committee meeting.

Note that one side of the table is full, while the other is empty.  The empty chairs belong to Democrats on the Committee.

It's been 1,087 days since Congress has passed a budget.  In case you didn't know, writing, voting on and passing a budget for the Federal Government is one of the fundamental functions of Congress.  In fact, Federal law (written, voted on and passed by Congress) requires Congress to pass a budget by 15 April each year.  Congress has violated this law since 2010.

Why hasn't Congress passed a budget?  Democrats refuse to even try.  As the photo illustrates, they don't even bother to show up to budget meetings.  Democrats claim the reason they haven't attempted to pass a budget is because Senate Republicans will filibuster, which is, of course, a lie.  Under Senate rules, budget votes are not subject to filibuster.  Are Democrats ignorant of Senate rules, or do they bet that the people who voted them into office are stupid enough to believe the lie?

The question pretty much answers itself, doesn't it?

Please remember, ladies and gentlemen, you provide these people's salaries, their pensions, their security details and all the perks that accompany a seat in Congress, and if you're an average American, their salaries, pensions and perks make yours look like pocket change.

Now ask yourselves this question; what would happen to you if you refused to do your job for 1,087 days?  Would you keep your job and all its benefits?

Again, the question pretty much answers itself, doesn't it?

Why aren't more Americans outraged over this?  What is wrong with the average American that, first, they elected these people to office, then allowed them to stay there?

Here's a list of the Senate Budget Committee members who didn't even bother to show up for work.

(1)   DSCC Chair Patty Murray (D-WA)
(2)   Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
(3)   Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL)
(4)   Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
(5)   Sen. Ben Cardin (D- MD)
(6)   Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
(7)   Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)
(8)   Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
(9)   Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK)
(10) Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)
(11) Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

If your Senator is on this list, do something about it.

Flying Cars Finally Arrive

After decades of promises and false starts, two companies - one American and one Dutch - finally produce flying cars.

The Dutch PAL-V One looks more practical, if such a thing can be said of a flying, road going vehicle.

Save Endangered Species. Eat them.

Why am I not surprised that this is happening in Texas?

They're nearly extinct in their native habitats of the African savanna. But because of an unusual exemption under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, these animals have thrived into the thousands by being hunted legally on sprawling ranches in the United States. In all, there are more than 5,000 such ranches in Texas, mostly in the south-central region known as Hill Country. 

Alongside the antelope exist exotic animals of every stripe, including zebra, African bongos, kangaroo and regal rare Pere David's deer, which are extinct in the wild. 

This particular exotic 3,000-acre ranch, like many in Texas, is for sport hunting, what Morani River Ranch owner and master bow-hunter Kevin Reid calls "re-creating the African experience."

The Texas game ranches have the cachet of the wild, providing hunters with the experience, game and trophies of endangered and extinct-in-the-wild animals they want without leaving the United States. A successful trophy hunt can cost up to $15,000, depending on the beast.

These ranchers keep animals that are endangered - or extinct - in the wild alive by the thousands to profit from them.  Environmentalists must be thrilled that someone provides this invaluable service to the Earth's ecological diversity, right?

Animal activists counter that conservation doesn't mean raising an animal to kill it and put its head on the wall. 

"A Texas game ranch is not an ecosystem wherein animals are protected," said Priscilla Feral, the president of Friends of Animals, which successfully sued the government to force the rule change on the African antelope. "They're a commercial product."

Yes,  they're a commercial product.  No kidding, genius.  That's why they're alive, because they're economically valuable, and people protect that which is economically valuable to them.  Most environmentalists would rather see these animals go extinct, than live to be profitable.

Why?  Because most environmentalists are "Watermelons"; green on the outside, red (Socialist, Communist, take your pick) on the inside.  Their first loyalty belongs to Socialism, not Gaia.

Yes,
Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/30/143729/quandary-on-texas-ranch-can-you.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/30/143729/quandary-on-texas-ranch-can-you.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/30/143729/quandary-on-texas-ranch-can-you.html#storylink=cpy