Voting is the answer

We are forty-two days away from what may be one of the most important elections in American history.  The reason why is because we have one party that believes the people should decide the outcome of elections, but they are opposed by … basically a cult who believe that politicians should be the ones who decide the outcome of elections.  And if they lose it has to be because the other side cheated, and not because they suck at their jobs and the people fired them.  The best way to stop these wannabe dictators is to show up and vote them out.  And hopefully, the other wannabe dictators in their cult will get the message.

To do that, we need as many people as possible to vote November 8.  Midterms usually have a low turnout, but that generally favors the cult.  If you are legally able to vote, you need to vote.  So make a plan.  Depending on what state you live in, you may still be able to register to vote for this election.  Your state website should have the details on how to register and any deadlines.  If you are registered, you may what to check that your registration is still active.  The voter rolls need to be updated as people die and move, but sometimes the people updating the rolls get overzealous and remove people that shouldn’t be removed.  If you check now – your state website should have details on this as well, but if not there are other reputable websites – and find a problem, you can fix it now instead of finding out on Election Day.

So you’re registered to vote, now what?  Find out where your polling place is.  Find out what all will be on the ballot.  Elections for governor and senator get all the news, but what about school boards and ballot questions that aren’t always worded in the clearest fashion.  Make a plan to vote.  Do you live somewhere with early voting?  Can you vote before going to work, or after work, or will your employer be okay if you take a long lunch?  What will the weather be like?  Will you need an umbrella or sun screen?  Will there likely be a line to vote?  Make sure your phone is fully charged, or take a book.  If there’s usually an outrageously long time to wait, can you take a folding chair or a cooler with snacks and water? 

America can only work if the citizens take an active role in the government.  And there are factions in the country deeply opposed to that.  They don’t want you to vote.  They want you to stay home and take whatever they give you.  Fuck them.  Vote.

Thoughts on the Artemis Program

As a moon firster who sees returning to the moon as the first step to making humanity a spacefaring civilization, I must be thrilled with the … possibly soon launch of the SLS.  Right?  Well, I’ve always been lukewarm towards the Artemis Program.  And I think the main reason is the SLS.  Don’t get me wrong, the SLS is a fantastic, gorgeous rocket and everyone who worked on it should be proud, and I do have the primal “Big Rocket Cool” feeling.  But I think the SLS is the wrong way to get to where I want humanity to go.

They say that the SLS will send the next person to the moon, which is nice, but I don’t want just a couple of people bouncing around on the moon.  I want a permanently crewed base which grows into a colony.  Yes, being alive when people are on the moon will be great, but I’d much rather be alive when the first human is born on the moon.  And this one mission every year – maybe – doesn’t seem to be the best way to go about that.

Over the last decade or so, my view of big rockets has dimmed.  Yes, “Big Rocket Cool,” but I’ve started thinking that we could probably achieve more using the “small” rockets we have than waiting years, or decades, for the big rockets.  Like, it’s tough accurately comparing rockets with how much they can launch and at what price, but let’s say the SLS will launch 10X what a Falcon 9 can launch.  But for the price of one SLS, you could probably buy two or three Falcon 9s and launch each of them ten or fifteen times.  Even if you just launch one Falcon 9 a month, you could easily get more mass into space in the year(s) between SLS launches. 

If everything goes as planned, the next humans to land on the moon will happen in 2025 with Artemis III.  That would be fantastic.  But the next landing would be Artemis V in 2028, maybe.  And who knows how many missions there will be beyond that.  Just given the costs, I expect the SLS to fly fewer times than the Saturn V.  And you can’t have a permanently crewed base – let alone a colony – with so few flights.  What I expect is that other entities will have separate, more sustainable programs that will take far more people to the moon.  That path of lunar exploration is what excites me.  Like, these other programs will be the featured movie while the Artemis Program will be the five-minute cartoon at the beginning of it.  Still entertaining, but not the main attraction.