THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Space is ripe for commercial conquest. Its potential for private market colonization will make Intelsat look like a home-based e-business.

On NPR this morning, while fixing my breakfast, I heard the SpaceShipOne creators gloating about how they launched a space mission without any assistance from NASA or the government. Give me a break.

Need I recount the wealth of basic science knowledge, spillovers of technological innovation, and human capital accumulation fueled by NASA research and development and space programs? It's like saying pioneers conquered the Western frontier using only their true grit (and ignoring government subsidization of railroad expansion, land giveaways, etc., etc.).

So much for great scientists standing on the shoulders of those who came before them.