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Newt promises a permanent moonbase by the end of his second term

Tsukasa Buddha said:
Didn't someone want to make a permanent advertisement on the moon? That could be the source of funding. Free market! Maybe we should put some nukes up there to. For the lulz.
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Ask Tricky, I think he knows the guy...
 
As Jon Stewart said, Newt apparently realized after doing that commercial with Pelosi that the Earth is sick, so he's decided to abandon it for a younger planet.

-Bri
 
RecoveringYuppy said:
Well, if we're talking about sending a billion people in to space then using todays costs isn't at all meaningful. We haven't even gotten to the point where we've ever mass produced a manned rocket. If we're talking launching a billion people then we'd be in a completely different realm where mass production would be a given and even more exotic technology than rockets would be a consideration.
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You think the cost of putting a billion or so people on the Moon will ever compete with what it would cost to live in Antarctica and Greenland?
 
Did anyone else catch what Romeny said at the Florida Republican debate last night about this very isse?

He said that New was simply pandering to the Florida aerospace industry by this Moonbase idea, and I have to admit that his charge makes a great deal of sense.

After all, Newt never said anything about the space program until Florida got on his screen.
 
Crossbow said:
Did anyone else catch what Romeny said at the Florida Republican debate last night about this very isse?

He said that New was simply pandering to the Florida aerospace industry by this Moonbase idea, and I have to admit that his charge makes a great deal of sense.

After all, Newt never said anything about the space program until Florida got on his screen.
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As Puppycow pointed out, Newter admitted as much during the debate.

His complete lack of shame becomes more apparent every time he opens his mouth. Who is voting for this schmuck?
 
fishbob said:
Newt wants us to go back to the gold standard, so Newt disagrees since he realized that nobody has mined any gold from the moon yet. Since Newt is full of it, he plans to boost America's wealth with projected moon-gold reserves.

Or more likely, Newt is just talking out his butt.
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Umm, didn't we already sign a bunch of treaties about that? Like how the moon isn't actually anyone's territory?
 
Crossbow said:
The New space program reminds me of the space program that the stupid, lying, idiotic former Preisdent George W. Bush Space proposed.

Bush talked about a Moon base and a manned Mars mission as well. However, Bush did not outlay any funds for it or even have ideas on how to proceed. Instead, he just offered lots of talk without any substance, and as a result, things went nowhere fast.

Therefore, I expect that the Newt space program will have similar results.
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My bet is he's throwing that on the wall to try to get Florida votes. I bet after the Florida primaries are over, we won't hear from it again.
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
You think the cost of putting a billion or so people on the Moon will ever compete with what it would cost to live in Antarctica and Greenland?
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Someday, yes, may be when the Antarctica and Greenland are fulll and the Moon (or where ever) is being populated by people living elsewhere in space.

However, If someone brought up "lowering crowding" as a motivation for colonizing the Moon it wasn't me. I also think colonizing the moon versus settling Antarctica is a false dichotomoy.
 
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RenaissanceBiker said:
The thing is, there's no really good reason to send a man to the Moon anymore. We know more about it now and there's nothing really useful to do there. He would be better off supporting the ISS or even a next generation ISS than a permanent moon base. Anything we want to do on Mars can be done cheaper and easier by robots. Newt criticizes Romney for being "only practical" when space exploration is an endeavor that cries out for practicality. The time for being romantic about space is long gone. Newt's grandiose space dreams are a far cry from a practical plan.
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C'mon, we all know that you can't be a true evil genius without a moonbase!
 
Cleon said:
As Puppycow pointed out, Newter admitted as much during the debate.

His complete lack of shame becomes more apparent every time he opens his mouth. Who is voting for this schmuck?
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According to the Washington Post, this is not Newt's first comment about space, or even about statehood for the moon:

* 1981: As a young member of Congress, Gingrich sponsored the National Space and Aeronautics Policy Act of 1981, his first attempt to create a path toward statehood for the moon. The bill had 12 co-sponsors but died in subcommittee.

* 1984: Gingrich published his first book, “Window of Opportunity: A Blueprint for The Future.” In it he approvingly cited a proposal aired at a NASA conference to manipulate the climate and light highways with mirrors on the moon. He also advocated space tourism, suggesting the moon as an ideal honeymoon spot: "Imagine weightlessness and its effects and you will understand some of the attraction.”

* 1986: Gingrich proposed taking the money we spend on farm subsidies and investing it in space travel. Former farmers could get jobs in factories orbiting space stations, Gingrich said at the World Science Fiction Convention in Atlanta.

* 1994: Gingrich proposed a $20 billion prize for the first private organization to land a crew on Mars and return it to Earth. His think tank, the Progress and Freedom Foundation, worked with Mars-exploration advocate Robert Zubrin on the idea. It’s an idea Gingrich has returned to over the years; he has also proposed prizes for moon exploration.

* 1995: Gingrich worked on a novel with science fiction author Jerry Pournelle called “The Faction,” in which “anti-American Japanese team up with international terrorists and get a hold of advanced space weaponry,” according to a Washington Post article. The book was never published.

* 2002: In a Frontline interview, Gingrich predicted that within the next 10 years, we could fend off missile attacks from Iran or North Korea with “energy weapons and laser pulsing systems” that operate from space.​

-Bri
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
I'd like to see a big research effort into a space elevator, but let's face it, in Newt's budget proposal, there's no room for existing government programs much less big new ones.
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The proponents of a Space Elevator forget one big thing - the tether would be the biggest terrorist target ever.
 
Bri said:
According to the Washington Post, this is not Newt's first comment about space, or even about statehood for the moon:

<snip>

* 1995: Gingrich worked on a novel with science fiction author Jerry Pournelle called “The Faction,” in which “anti-American Japanese team up with international terrorists and get a hold of advanced space weaponry,” according to a Washington Post article. The book was never published.
​
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I wonder if perhaps Newt missed his calling?
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
Bri said:
According to the Washington Post, this is not Newt's first comment about space, or even about statehood for the moon:
<snip>

* 1995: Gingrich worked on a novel with science fiction author Jerry Pournelle called “The Faction,” in which “anti-American Japanese team up with international terrorists and get a hold of advanced space weaponry,” according to a Washington Post article. The book was never published.
​
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I wonder if perhaps Newt missed his calling?
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Pournelle? Hrm. When I think Gingrich, I think "Dick."
 
Bri said:
As Jon Stewart said, Newt apparently realized after doing that commercial with Pelosi that the Earth is sick, so he's decided to abandon it for a younger planet.

-Bri
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Well, ...

in all fariness to Newt, he did ask the Earth if they could have an open relationship instead of being exclusive, and the Moon being nearly virgin territory, does look quite appealing to an old guy like him.

;)
 
OCaptain said:
The proponents of a Space Elevator forget one big thing - the tether would be the biggest terrorist target ever.
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Read Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson for that, but if we keep worrying about things like that, then we would never get anything done!
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
You think the cost of putting a billion or so people on the Moon will ever compete with what it would cost to live in Antarctica and Greenland?
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Yeah, but Greenland already has a problem of unemployment (especially amongst giants)
 
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