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The time has come for my annual short Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

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New bipartisan budget deal cuts nothing from bloated federal government

The swamp wins! A bipartisan budget deal worked out by Republicans and Democrats in Congress will cut nothing from the bloated federal government.

While losing on the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump won a $15 billion down payment on his request to strengthen the military.

GOP leaders demurred from trying to use the must-do spending bill to “defund” Planned Parenthood. The White House also backed away from language to take away grants from “sanctuary cities” that do not share information about people’s immigration status with federal authorities.

The measure funds the remainder of the 2017 budget year, rejecting cuts to popular domestic programs targeted by Trump, such as medical research and infrastructure grants.

In other words, these corrupt bastards are doing nothing to reduce the budget, even though that is exactly what they were elected to do. Instead, they are growing it.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

9 comments

  • wayne

    Best-Friends-of-Donald:
    Rence Priebus, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell.
    “We can’t do anything until you give us the House….
    We can’t do anything until you give us the Senate…
    We can’t do anything until you give us the Presidency….
    Sorry, we can’t stop ourselves from lying, next stop… $21 Trillion in Debt.”

    Living Colour
    Cult Of Personality
    https://youtu.be/7xxgRUyzgs0
    (4:52)

  • wayne

    “Autopilot Spending Devours Budget”
    Heritage Foundation; Federal Budget in Pictures.
    http://federalbudgetinpictures.com/autopilot-spending-devours-budget/

  • PeterF

    So it appears that “the Donald” has been rolled. I wonder if it bothers him the “Chuckles the Clown” Shumer is laughing at him. All I can hope for at this point is that the president remembers that he has the power of VETO. That would sure wipe the smile off the RINOs faces!

  • Gealon

    Time to get out the pen and telephone.

  • wayne

    (Donald Loves Chucky, he certainly gave enough money to him over the decades.)

    Mark Levin:
    “Liberal Republicans owe Obama an apology for trash-talking Obamacare…”
    (April 28 2017)
    https://youtu.be/1vGi7eZ7ptk
    (9:35)

    Mitch, Ryan, McCarthy, and Scaliese, “the Usual Statist Big Government RINO suspects,” and they are IN CHARGE of the whole Government.
    (and we can’t forget Willll-bur over at The Agriculture Department, he never met an agriculture-subsidy or protective-tariff, he didn’t LOVE.)

  • wayne

    Food Stamp Spending
    (SNAP)
    http://federalbudgetinpictures.com/food-stamps-spending/

    –47 million recipients, at a cost of $78 billion a year.

  • Commodude

    Every time we have a national election, people get wrapped around the axle about the Presidential race and ignore the poltroons in Congress.

    To effect ANY change you need at least half of the 535 seats to change from the incumbents to new reps, and that’s not happening. Barring retirements, there’s over a 90% incumbent reelection rate.

    We have royalty, we’ve just changed the manner in which they get their titles. Once elected, it’s almost impossible to unseat an incumbent.

  • Michael

    If the republicans do not get with the program the next election in 2018 with have one of two outcomes:

    The democrats will re-take the house and senate in which the country will be lost (most likely)

    or

    the republicans will retake the house and senate with a blood bath occurring among the leadership and the lower ranks that will be staggering (desirable but not likely)

  • Mitch S.

    Let’s remember that a politician’s #1 priority is to get reelected.
    Now we all want our Pols to promise to cut spending and reduce the deficit – but when it comes to actually doing something are we willing to take the pain?

    We’ve been spending beyond our means for decades and there is no way to truly reduce the deficit/debt without cutting things that are backed by various constituencies.
    So a Congressman has a choice – face the people and tell them their taxes can’t go down and there will be cuts in benefits or just pretend program and benefits can continue because we’ll solve the deficit by:
    A) Dems: taxing the rich and corporations – of course it never really happens because the pols need the money from the rich/corps.
    or
    b) Repubs: We’ll cut entitlements and taxes – and the lower taxes will cause a boom that fills the treasury. – Of course the cuts never happen because the pols don’t want to piss off voters and the tax cuts end up being funneled to donors.

    And many of us here would correctly point out that even if taxes are truly raised, the gov’t will just grow to absorb the additional revenues.

    Most politicians simply go with A or B even though they know it doesn’t work – why give an opponent ammunition to use to defeat you?

    Will the “deficit hawk” who wants to soak the rich or cut the Pentagon be willing to do without funding for Sesame Street” or free cell phones?
    Will the “deficit hawk” who wants to cut entitlements and waste be happy when his Medicare payments go up, a carrier group is eliminated, the main employer in town that makes parts for fancy weapon systems that don’t work (or rockets that are never launched) is closed?

    Let’s remember every frivolous budget item has an interest group who will point out why their slice of pork is vital to the nation and cutting it would be unfair and an outrage when there is so much other waste.
    (I’m sure every military golf course and General’s Gulfstream has a paper explaining how necessary it is)

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