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Bridenstine At ISSRDC On Wednesday

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
July 30, 2019
Filed under
Bridenstine At ISSRDC On Wednesday

ISS Research and Development Conference livestream
8:30 – 9:00 AM Morning Keynote with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and ISS National Lab CEO Dr. Joseph Vockley to Host Press Conference at ISS R&D Conference
“On Wednesday, July 31, during the 8th annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC), NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory Chief Executive Officer Dr. Joseph Vockley will hold a press conference to discuss the critical importance of our nation’s only orbiting laboratory.”
Keith’s note: Offsite media questions will be submitted via Facebook and Twitter screened by CASIS. Since CASIS refuses to accredit NASAWatch as news media it is unlikely that I will be allowed to ask a question.

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

9 responses to “Bridenstine At ISSRDC On Wednesday”

  1. Keith Vauquelin says:
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    KC, why does CASIS refuse to accredit you and NASAWatch? Clearly, you are established, long-term, as a recognized and legitimate aerospace journalist. Politics raising its ugly head? Emperor’s New Clothes? I ask because it seems to me ridiculous they will not accredit your organization.

    • kcowing says:
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      I don’t think they like me very much.

      • Keith Vauquelin says:
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        Ridiculous – another example of the truth being squashed for political
        correctness and expediency. Stand your ground. Kool Aid drinkers are
        losers.

      • ed2291 says:
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        Your many followers love and trust you. That beats sniveling cowardly NASA bureaucrats any day of the week!

    • fcrary says:
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      Ridiculous or not, that’s actually an interesting legal point. I believe there are laws (or at least, regulations) about government agencies and accrediting reporters. They can’t refuse to accredit someone because they don’t like him or because his stories are critical of them. Of course, a huge amount of foot dragging and room for claiming other reasons for not accrediting someone. But it’s something government agencies are supposed to do.

      But I think a private company can do whatever they like. And I think that’s true even if they are a government-funded non-profit company. So CASIS refusing to accredit NASA Watch is probably legal. That would also be true of Boeing, or Blue Origin or SpaceX (although I seriously doubt they’d want to; even Boeing gets more positive coverage on NASA Watch than CASIS…) I guess that’s the down side of contracting work out to private companies. They might be more efficient the government (well, not in this case) but they are also less transparent.

      • Keith Vauquelin says:
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        My opinion and argument is not over legality. My argument is over an abuse of power by a government institution where silencing a dissenting and intelligent opinion is acceptable, versus taking the dissenting opinion into account, and giving its value the appropriate consideration. KC doesn’t drink the Kool Aid, so, he is denied reasonable participatory access, despite clearly having the professional experience to contribute a well-considered viewpoint based on his journalistic and aerospace professions.

        • fcrary says:
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          Two points you see to have missed.

          CASIS is not a government institution. That was the point of my comment. As you say, a government institution should not and, I think can not legally, deny accreditation for political reasons. But CASIS is not a government institution. It is a private, non-profit company. We may think it should follow the same ethical standards we expect from government agencies, but they are not legally required to do so.

          Second, the phrase, “drinking the Kool Aid” is something I find massively and grotesquely offensive. If you don’t know, it is a reference to a mass murder by a religious cult, where people were either tricked or forced to drink poisoned drinks (a punch, but actually not Kool Aid.) I think making jokes about a mass murder is going a bit too far.

          • Keith Vauquelin says:
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            Well, we all have to offended by something.

            Let me tell the audience what I am offended by:

            1) Political correctness (CASIS) which produces meaningless results, and causes further failure of our society to produce functional results which bring value to all of us, while silencing its legitimate critics (KC)

            2) Tax and spend politicians which are more interested in the next election cycle than their constituent’s true needs and making wise choices about spending what we have, not what we don’t (SLS / Constellation / “The Stick”)

            3) Private institutions, like HOAs (or CASIS) which have a potentate running amok, issuing edicts and declarations which have no purpose other than to insure they remain in power

            4) Citizens who whine about the offenses they supposedly suffer, but when the offense is measured in terms of true damage and value, it becomes apparent they are simply lunatics blowing off steam on a public forum because they have no other venue to do so.

            There was no joke about mass murder.

            Try to stay on topic next time. KC is being barred for participating and attending because his opinion differs from many of the attendees. The issue is that simple. Any organization that practices censorship has no legitimacy and should be disbanded, in my opinion.

          • fcrary says:
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            I was staying on topic: You may be offended by a private company’s media relations and who they will and will not take questions from. You may consider it censorship. But since they are a private company, legally, they are free to ignore your opinions. That’s worth noting, because we are moving towards more and more direct work by private companies (e.g. SpaceX and Blue Origin.) They have that same right to handle media relations as they wish, and not listen to what you think about it. Unlike CASIS, I think we’ll get something of value in exchange for the loss of transparency and accountability, but there will be less transparency and accountability.

            And, by the way, “drink the Kool-Aid” is a direct reference to the 909 people who were killed in Jonestown, Guiana, in 1978. Even if you don’t know it, it does refer to those events. I’m perfectly free to say I think using that phrase is offensive, or at least in extremely poor taste. But I can’t force you to stop using it, and I wouldn’t want to if I could. Just as CASIS is free to ignore your opinions about censorship, you’re free to ignore my opinions about this.