How realistic are they? My thoughts, over at PJMedia.
Category Archives: Business
Space Property Rights
My latest piece at The New Atlantis is up.
It’s very similar to my paper for CEI, but I have a new twist at the end:
…it is worth noting that, while the OST arguably does not prevent the recognition of property claims per se, it may prove to be a hindrance to any kind at all of large-scale space activity, not just settlement. In that regard, this is the most troublesome sentence in the entire treaty: “The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty.”
Consider the implications of the words “continuing supervision,” if taken literally. It could be argued that satisfaction of this requirement would demand that any person operating off the planet would be required to have a government minder with him at all times. Prior approval — for example, a launch license — might not be sufficient, because supervision could be argued to imply not just observation, but physical control. This wording in the treaty could imply that even the remote monitoring of private activity in space, which itself would be a significant hindrance for space settlement, would be insufficient.
With new affordable spaceflight technologies on the horizon, extensive private activity in space will be a serious possibility in the near future. If we wish to see humanity flourish in space, we have to recognize that the Outer Space Treaty is a relic of a different era. Fresh interpretations may not suffice: we may soon have to renegotiate and amend the treaty — or even completely scrap it and start from scratch — if we want not just to protect space as a mere scientific preserve but to open it for settlement as a grand new frontier.
So we have to be prepared to fight.
Right To Work
Is it unlibertarian?
Technically speaking, yes, but as he notes, it’s a more libertarian solution than the status quo under the NRLA. If we can get that repealed (won’t happen with this president or Congress) then right-to-work laws become unnecessary.
Michigan
…is the new Wisconsin:
Expect recall attempts, lawsuits, ballot questions, and more money poured into the gubernatorial and state legislative races than ever before…”We’re looking at two years of war to hold the ground we took today.”
I predict that Michigan job growth in the next two years will help.
[Update a while later]
Unions begin a long war after a stunning blow in Michigan.
Finding Out What’s In The Bill
Many Senate Democrats want to delay the medical device tax, because they’re concerned that it will cost jobs.
Gee, if only someone had told them about this before they voted for it. Oh, wait.
Morons.
Majoring In Fun
What a disaster academia has become. And all government subsidized, of course.
The President’s Latest Lies
…about right to work.
And is he going to denounce the threats of violence? Don’t hold your breath. It’s all part of that new civility we’re always hearing about but somehow never actually see.
[Update a while later]
It’s the same old story:
…we have actual Democratic elected officials threatening acts of political violence, and we have actual Democratic activists carrying out those acts of political violence. Mr. Sullivan? Mr. Rich? Mr. Obama?
As I said, don’t hold your breath.
[Update a while later]
The thuggery begins.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Raising money for a reward for info leading to the arrest of the thug. It shouldn’t be hard. He’s easily identifiable. They’ve already raised more than a couple thousand, with a grand from Instapundit.
Also, as Dana warns, please don’t speculate about his identity in comments.
[Update a few minutes later]
Here‘s a report on the tent destruction:
Fladeboe said the tent, for which AFP-Michigan had received a permit a week earlier, held between 30 and 40 people before protesters began stabbing at its straps with knives. He said that at first, protesters were targeting random straps to avoid being caught — then, finally, they focused on one corner of the tent in an effort to pull it down. Fladeboe said that even once several of the straps were cut, the local police on the scene did little to help the volunteers re-secure them.
Eventually, protesters were able to snap one of the tent stakes in half and pull it from beneath the tent, causing it to collapse. Fladeboe said that despite reports that the tent had been cleared of people before it went down, there were about a dozen people still trapped inside after it had fully collapsed. “You could see people inside of it trying to get up, and you could see the tent moving,” he said — a problem exacerbated by the fact that protesters began “stomping” on top of the collapsed canvas while volunteers tried to help those trapped inside.
And those inside reportedly included women, children and elderly. If there were children, it was probably an inadvisable place to bring them, given all the credible threats, but I guess they thought they’d be safe inside.
[Update a few minutes later]
Here‘s video of the tent.
[Late evening update]
“There are people under there, oh my God.” Language warning.
Carnival Of Space
Next Big Future has quite a few interesting links.
The FDA
Time for SCOTUS to rein it in.
Safety Netting Our Citizens
…to death:
…it’s true that at any point Rob could have taken concrete actions to change his path — and he bears moral responsibility for his failure to act — but it’s also true that our government has relentlessly incentivized every step of his deterioration, all in the name of compassion. Even worse, by providing such generous benefits with no meaningful strings attached, we’ve also essentially immunized him against the kind of assistance that he truly needs — the “tough love” that demands that a man do what he can to help himself through productive work.
The result? Another statistic. Another father who is no longer a role model for his children. Another sadly shortened lifetime’s worth of money (some borrowed from China) paid to sustain a lifestyle not good enough to enjoy and not tough enough to leave.
There’s nothing compassionate about this. And I don’t even believe that the intentions are good.