A cynical co-worker from long ago once told me we should strive to discover a way to harness stupidity as an energy source since its supply is unlimited. Sounded a little science fiction to me at the time, but a quick review of history suggests he might have been closer to the truth than even he had guessed.
Something about the vastness of space seems to inspire Republicans to insipid heights of buffoonery. Ronald Reagan, I'm assuming fresh from binge-watching the Star Wars movies, offered a space-based defensive shield to America's allies, the Strategic Defense Initiative. Countering the black hole of space, Reagan's proposal created a financial black hole that repeatedly failed to work even when pitted against soft-ball 'tests' that were anything but.
Fast forward almost four decades and another Republican President, this time one who has NO use for any American allies and who makes Reagan look like the second coming of Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, hasn't just proposed another variant of Deep Space Nine but has established the Air Force's answer to the Marine Corps, Space Force (I always read that with echo on).
So far all Cadet Tiny Hands really has to show for the Space Force are its uniforms, and the reaction to them makes me, for one, yearn for the return of the good old days of the SDI. On the upside, I should point out that it appears we can start exporting stupidity and really start to cash in.
-bill kenny
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