Statement of Principles

This is my first blog post. It won't be my last.

To introduce myself: I'm Doug Van Dorn, a political progressive living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And as with anyone who decides to blog, I have an agenda, here.

You see, while I am progressive in my political thinking, I am also dedicated to the concept that man must explore. That mankind requires new horizons, new vistas, and new places where humans may flourish.

I believe that this need to explore is a basic and undeniable element of human nature.

I also believe that one of the final frontiers (to borrow a phrase) available to humanity now is the frontier of space. There are precious few vistas left unbeheld on this Earth of ours, precious few places where humans or their machines have not trod. Right at this moment, I can sign on to Google Earth and visit any location on the entire planet.

And so human nature presses me towards the planets and the stars for new vistas, new ground underfoot, new skies and new sunsets.

Now for the duality of my situation...

My political leanings are progressive. Many of my progressive friends, and many of the progressive candidates I support or would like to support, seem to regard both manned and unmanned exploration of space as expensive, risky and essentially frivolous activities that drain our resources and deliver nothing back.

This blog is my tool to counter that misconception. I will be making my case as the election season progresses, writing open letters to various politicians and candidates, and as far as I am able, make the case for investment in space exploration in terms so plain and simple as to command their assent.

But it won't all be serious. I'll discuss exciting new events in manned and unmanned space activities (can't wait for Phoenix to land on Mars this May!), and even drop in the occasional nitpicking review of classic space flight TV and film projects, such as "Apollo 13" and the HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon". And, given my rather intense study of the Apollo program, I'll toss in a monograph every once in a while on some of the fascinating events of that bygone era.

I'm looking forward to this adventure!