Inner Turmoil and Outer Space September 26, 2012September 25, 2012 ANTHONY GRIFFITH’S STORY I was on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson twice, in 1978. The first time I did well but should have unbuttoned my jacket. The second time my jacket was unbuttoned but so, too, was my brain. Stories for another time. Stand-up comic Anthony Griffith was on the Tonight Show three times, in 1990. He “killed” each time. His Tonight Show story was rather different from mine and not what you’d expect. If you have 9 minutes for something not even a little bit funny — watch this. And let me know, by the way, whether you think we should roll back the expansion of health insurance to more kids. ONE ASTRONAUT’S TAKE Tom Stolze: “For this alone I would vote Obama:” Obama’s Space Vision by Rusty Schweickart [Schweickart, the Apollo 9 lunar module pilot, is the former chairman of the California Energy Commission and an aerospace executive.] The U.S. space industry, spawned by NASA’s 0.5 percent of the federal budget, has been a critical part of our economy for more than 50 years with aerospace being the largest positive contributor to our nation’s trade balance. But the future of space industry and the local economies that support it are in jeopardy. For the United States to maintain its world leadership in aerospace technology, we must continue a robust and challenging program of space exploration and we must invest in the people and communities who create this engine of growth. Future U.S. leadership in space requires a foundation of sustained technology advances. Under President Barack Obama’s leadership, America has begun a new and exciting phase of human space exploration. President Obama has tasked NASA with an ambitious vision for human spaceflight that will take American astronauts where we have never been before; sending our explorers safely into deep space for the first time — with the ultimate goal being a human mission to Mars. . . . As President Obama visits the Space Coast today, we are witnessing how his policies are bringing jobs to the area and new hope to the space community. Florida’s Space Coast has become not just the launching pad for commercial rockets to the station and America’s launch pad for the largest heavy-lift rocket that NASA has ever built, but is now also a launching pad for new businesses and jobs of the future.In light of this leadership, Mitt Romney’s candidacy presents a stark choice. . . . When it comes to NASA and space exploration, it is clear Romney is completely wrong on the issue and out of touch with the space industry. While Romney hasn’t presented a space plan, he has been unwavering in his support of a budget plan that slashes domestic investments and could require deep cuts in America’s space program. . . . This is exactly why it is so essential we continue the new course President Obama has laid out, revitalizing NASA and its mission —not just with dollars, but also with clear goals and a larger purpose.