Guest: Alan Steinberg was the guest for this Space Show program. Alan represents the brightest of the brightest of the American youth who we talk about frequently on The Space Show. Today, we get to hear about common Space Show topics and themes through the eyes, ears, and perspective of our future policy makers. We talked about many topics that, while not unique to youth, clearly have a special meaning for young Americans. For example, you will definitely want to hear how Alan responded to questions about ITAR and planetary defense from a potential incoming NEO. The same goes for competition, China, and other space countries. As Alan Steinberg is experienced in politics and policy, we also addressed space as a political issue and as an important policy. Again, you will want to hear what he said about this, even regarding the upcoming changes in our government for later this year and 2009. We talked with Alan about ways to get more of his peers interested in space and space development. See what you think of his ideas and his analysis of the key issues impacting related problems. Several listeners asked how we would know if Alan would be a truly dedicated space-focused elected official, instead of just another empty suited politician paying lip service to space with the right buzz words and timing. Alan addressed these questions and concerns head-on without missing a beat, so you will definitely want to hear this discussion. Later, he told me these were easy questions compared to what was asked of him when he was running for Congress in Texas. Early in the show, I asked Alan about science fiction and reality, a subject we have been discussing lately with many Space Show guests. I asked Alan if he had read Robert Heinlein and surprise, surprise, the answer was no. Listen to his story of how he became interested in space. He did not take a path to space from sci-fi, and instead quite the opposite. Of course, growing up in Texas and being able to visit NASA JSC made a difference. This archive summary of our program today does not cover all the great topics and discussion points we had on air with Alan Steinberg. Perhaps Alan will have continued opportunities to influence his peers toward the space direction, certainly as you will hear on this show, he has the know-how, the smarts, and the ability to do so. But as you will hear, it's not easy to do, even for someone like Alan with his credentials and experience . Visit his blog which is at www.steinbergforcongress.com/. You can send your comments and questions to Alan Steinberg at either alan_steinberg@yahoo.com or SteinbergForCongress@gmail.com.
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