Your Future: Elon and Trump and Texas or Newsom and Kamala and California

Two futures: one is open, optimistic, looking to future prosperity. The other is crabbed, depressing, obsessed with divvying up limited resources according to political criteria.

One is Trump enthusing of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship launching last Sunday in Texas, then the first stage returning and being caught by “chopsticks”: “That’s the most incredible thing! Can Russia do that? Nope.”

The other is Kamala and Newsom’s California banning SpaceX launches. Politico reported “officials cite Elon Musk’s politics in rejecting SpaceX launches. State officials cited Musk’s antics in rejecting SpaceX’s plan to launch more rockets off the Central California coast.” Musk is suing.

I grew up in the 1960s and was a big fan of the space program. Both Republicans and Democrats supported putting men into space, then landing an American on the moon before the Soviets. They differed on taxes, spending, civil rights, defense. But they were forward looking. Here’s a real Democrat, JFK, in 1962.

And we did it.

Elon already has moved much of his operations from California to Texas, including Tesla, SpaceX and X, formerly Twitter. He still wants to use Vandenberg Air Force base, which actually is federal property outside California’s control.

But the Kamala-Newsom Ludicrous State has agreements with the feds. And the feds currently are controlled by Kamala and Biden. If Trump takes over, I’m sure we’ll see pressure to resume flights at Vandenberg – at least until Elon moves the rest of his operations to the Lone Star State.

My America, the one I grew up in and I hope returns before I take the Great Rocket Ship to Heaven, eagerly works, not to divvy up a shrinking pie, but to lift everyone up; not to remain hidebound, quibbling over trivia, but to go to the moon and Mars and the stars.