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On this episode of “Right and Righter,” host Elizabeth Harrington welcomes Matthew Continetti, Aaron Harison, Natalie Johnson, and special guest Michael Goldfarb. Topics include the gun control debate, bullying, Brendan Fraser, the Bachelor Winter Games, Millennials, Justin Trudeau, and turning the Moon into a gas station. You won’t want to miss it.
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Funny episode! Can’t wait until you get Sonny Bunch on there because he’s always right.
Hey, what is the name of that tune on the intro and outro?
just wondering
A lot of podcasts try to be funny. This one succeeds!
It was also fun hearing all these people freely disagreeing with each other. (Quite a contrast after, say, the Commentary podcast …)
BTW, the reason space travel went nowhere for half a century is the Outer Space Treaty the Democrats signed in 1967. This prevents the United States (and, in theory, other countries) from claiming territory in outer space.
If such a treaty had been in power in 1492, we would all still be living in Europe!
I was a little confused by the electric car talk. One of the guys said he hated electric cars and wanted a coal powered car. In some circles, electric cars are referred to as coal powered cars because most electricity comes from coal. Took me a while to realize that he meant a car directly powered by coal, like a locomotive.
The Outer Space Treaty prevents nations from claiming bodies – however it does not curtail property rights. It actually doesnt address personal property in/on outer space – as it was unthinkable in the 1960s that a corporation or person would have the resources to reach these bodies. So it could be the perfect libertarian experiment – can people respect each other’s property rights without state oversight?
About refueling on the moon – Unfortunately the moon is in the wrong place – it would not be ideal to refuel near the moon. However the moon would be ideal to drop supplies into low earth orbit, in order to refuel orbital space stations. Provided they’re in a low inclination orbit – like the moon – the ISS is in a high inclination orbit 51.5 degrees, so that the Russians can get the Soyuz to it. Actually the space station’s orbit was so unfriendly to the Shuttle’s that the Colombia never made the trip to the ISS. (being the first shuttle – it was the heaviest)
One way to think about refueling is like changing planes – those who fly a lot – can you imagine changing planes in Saskatoon, SK? I mean Saskatoon is a nice city, but its not really on the way to anywhere. The moon is like Saskatoon, A nice destination but not really “on the way” to anywhere else.
Great episode. I think I’m on Team Aaron.
Or, another way of putting it: when the Chinese move in and take over your asteroid mine, who you gonna call?
Take the claim jumpers to court? What court will you take them to?
The phrase, “war of all against all” may be relevant here.
This is the point, as a state – if China signed the Outer Space Treaty – they cant claim anything. But you as an individual or more likely corporation can.
An asteroid maybe mined by several groups – each with the understanding that they do as they please – provided they dont interfere with or damage the equipment of another group.
Remember, I didn’t say China (or whoever) would “claim“ your mine, I said they would “take“ your mine.
On Earth, mining claims are registered with an entity that belongs to the government that claims the general area under international law (which is exactly what the 1967 treaty forbids in space); disputes over claims are adjudicated by an entity of that government; and that government will use violence to enforce its judgment.
So the question remains, who you gonna call?
Sam Colt. Robot wars deep space edition.
If there where real world realpolitik consequences for government being naughty, then they would remain in check. This could be a real problem – in that China is setting itself up as a near monopoly in many rare earth minerals, they could see this as a threat to their goals. We just have to make it clear that the properties of others must be respected.
“Fucking in the Bushes,” by Oasis. You may remember it from the movie Snatch. Or a bunch of other places.