CNN Headlines Candidates Weak Space Stance

CNN headlines the story: "Raw Politics: Candidates and the space race" about how Obama, Clinton, and McCain all have a soft stance on manned exploration. Tom Foreman, the writer for the story, emphasizes China's growing space prowess and writes "if space does not become a higher priority, the Chinese program will be on par with America's by the end of the next president's second term. Then, it will be a real race to Mars even if we want to join in."

Its good to see the issue getting some attention in the election, even if it isn't from the candidates. NASAWatch links to a video on the story.

Could CNN be trying to put it on the agenda after neglecting it in a series of debates earlier?

Tell the candidates about the story. Tell them it makes them look bad. Invite them to differentiate themselves.

New Bill Could Provides Tax Incentives for People Investing in Space Companies

Yesterday, Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California (Co-Sponsored by Representative Weldon) introduced H.R. 5310: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for investing in companies involved in space-related activities.

He has introduced similar legislation under the name "Zero Gravity, Zero Tax Act" for the past 3 congresses, but they all have failed. With a broader name and the support and feedback from space advocates across the internet, lets get the bill passed this time!

It has been referred to the house committee on Ways and Means

Contact the member on the committee from your area and demand that they pass this bill along for debate and eventual vote in the house.

Charles B. Rangel, NY Chairman
Fortney Pete Stark, CA Sander M. Levin, MI Jim McDermott, WA John Lewis, GA Richard E. Neal, MA Michael R. McNulty, NY John S. Tanner, TN Xavier Becerra, CA Lloyd Doggett, TX Earl Pomeroy, ND Stephanie Tubbs Jones, OH Mike Thompson, CA John B. Larson, CT Rahm Emanuel, IL Earl Blumenauer, OR Ron Kind, WI Bill Pascrell Jr. , NJ Shelley Berkley, NV Joseph Crowley, NY Chris Van Hollen, MD Kendrick B. Meek, FL Allyson Y. Schwartz, PA Artur Davis, AL		Jim McCrery, LA Wally Herger, CA Dave Camp, MI Jim Ramstad, MN Sam Johnson, TX Phil English, PA Jerry Weller, IL Kenny C. Hulshof, MO Ron Lewis, KY Kevin Brady, TX Thomas M. Reynolds, NY Paul Ryan, WI Eric Cantor, VA John Linder, GA Devin Nunes, CA Pat Tiberi, OH Jon Porter, NV

Make a statement of your support!

Obama, Clinton face off in Houston

The Houston Chronicle reports that Obama has accepted the invitation to debate in Houston with Clinton.

Tim Russert and Brian Williams "have promised to moderate the debate the Greater Houston Partnership has been trying to organize in Houston. NBC's cable network MSNBC has committed to airing the Houston forum. 'We're committing to the concept of doing a debate in Texas before the primary,' said Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the Obama campaign."

As Houston is the home of the Johnson Space Center, the debate might contain questions concerning their human space policy.

Email Tim Russert and Brian Williams at MSNBC and tell them not to drop the ball like politico and CNN did in their Los Angeles debates. Tell them to ask Barack and Hillary about their contradicting space policies, rather than simply ask them to restate the positions that they already have in common.

Houston Debate: Clinton on Board, Barack not.

Hillary Clinton has agreed to participate in a debate in Houston on February 28th before the Texas democratic primaries. Barack Obama has not agreed. This is another fantastic chance to get them talking about their space policies, as the differ on their plans and Houston would be particularly impacted.

Email, fax, visit, and call Obama at (866) 675-2008 and tell him how important it is to you, and your vote, that he participate.

Democratic Debate tonight

Despite no mention of the issue last night during the republican debate, space should be a topic during the debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at the debate tonight. Our popularity among the questions was much higher for the democratic questions than the republican ones. Be sure to watch the debate on TV on CNN or go to cnn.com and stream it live.

The Final Stretch for the Space Debate Questions!

Only days before the debates on Jan 30 and 31st in LA! We have only just barely begun to slip in the rankings at the politico page. Go now and vote for the republican and democratic questions! Its do or die time!

Candidate Locations on Thursday

Tonight is the republican debate in Boca Raton. From the ticker: where the candidates will be before the debate

Clinton is in Greenville and Anderson South Carolina.

Edwards is in Greenwood and Seneca South Carolina.

email us and tell us where Huckabee is going to be before the debate in Boca Raton.

McCain holds town halls (see previous post) in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Later he attends a pre-debate party in Deerfield Beach.

Obama is in Kingstree, and Beaufort South Carolina.

Romney is in Miami (see previous post) before the debate in Boca Raton.

Tell McCain and Romney in Your Own Voice

Tomorrow, January 24, all space supporters in Florida:

at 6:45 p.m, Governor Romney attends a pre-debate rally at Bogart's Bar & Grille: Muvico Palace 20, 3200 Airport Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431

Go get yourself a burger, sidle up to good 'ole Mitt, and tell him why he needs to give NASA a couple billion more dollars. Tell him what effect if will have on your vote. He seems like a nice enough guy to talk to.

John McCain will be at a town hall meeting in West Palm Beach at 11:00am. The address is the Palm Beach County Convention Center Ballroom A & B, 650 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Go to the convention center early. Figure out how to get at the front of the question line, and ask something along the lines of

"John McCain, Why don't you make room in your schedule to meet with the Economic Development Council of Florida’s Space Coast and how much money will you increase NASA's budget by when you are president?"

That question being asked alone will have a large impact on all of the candidates space positions. Get this issue out in the open! Record the answer with a mp3 recorder and email it to us as actionforspace@gmail.com.

Send us an email if you hear word of where Huckabee will be before the debate.

Science Debate 2008

Each day, we have a new opportunity to promote space in this years election: Sciencedebate2008

Even when a question was asked at the Youtube debate about space exploration, the candidates took it lightly.

Participants from across government, industry, and academia are organizing a debate to be held specifically about science issues. They need our support!

• Go sign the petition
• Fax the Candidates and tell them that they need to participate and even promote this event

And We Have Liftoff!

The space community had responded to the call and we are coming out en masse to make our voices heard in the Jan 30 and 31 politico debates in Los Angeles. Since Saturday night, the questions have flooded into politico.com for the CNN televised debate. Not only that, but the space questions have been voted to the top of both the Republican and Democratic debates. Wired has reported on our success.

What is different about this political movement from the space community is that it is not the traditional scramble to promote one space initiative over another, but it is an effort to promote space exploration in general to our would be political leaders.

Keep up the good work!

Even before those debates heat up, we have another opportunity to make our voices heard:

CNN's Wolf Blitzer has asked for suggestions to what he might ask. With almost 3000 suggestions as of this writing, I suspect that they might data mine the comments for common themes, so lets get our themes in the debate!

Continue submitting and voting for questions at dyn.politico.com/debate.

We need to band together, and watch out for more opportunities to flex our muscle. Email me or comment about other debates and opportunities to give feedback, so that I can post them here. In the meantime, check here for information about current legislation, threats to the community, and methods to contact our legislators to promote the most noble endeavor the human family has yet embarked on.