Krauthammer Bashes Obama's Infantile NASA Muslim Outreach Program, Fox via Gateway Pundit

"This is a new of fatuousness. NASA was established to get America into space and to keep us there. This idea of 'feel good about your past' scientific achievements is the worst kind of group therapy, psycho-babble, imperial condescension and adolescent diplomacy. If I didn't know that Obama had told him this, I'd demand the firing of Charles Bolden."

A Muslim star project, New York Post

"Houston, we have a problem -- Muslim countries are feeling insecure. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, interviewed yesterday on the Arabic news station al-Jazeera, said President Obama had given him three missions, the "foremost" of which was to improve relations with the Muslim world."

NASA's new mission: Building ties to Muslim world, San Francisco Examiner

"NASA is not only a space exploration agency," Bolden concluded, "but also an Earth improvement agency." At the same time, Bolden gave a bleak assessment of the space part of NASA's mission. More than 40 years after the first moon landing, he told al-Jazeera, the U.S. can no longer reach beyond Earth's orbit without assistance from abroad. "We're not going to go anywhere beyond low Earth orbit as a single entity," Bolden said. "The United States can't do it." Its space initiatives junked, its administrator rhapsodizing about helping Muslims "feel good" about themselves: That is the new NASA."

Since when did it become NASA's "mission" to "improve relations with the Muslim world"?, SIster Toldjah

"Would be very interesting to find out just how much this self-esteem "outreach" effort is costing the American people. Anywhere in the stratsosphere of as much as Project Constellation cost before it was effectively axed by this administration, costing along with it thousands of jobs?"

Tuesday's intriguing people: Charles Bolden, CNN

"The website NASA Watch reported Bolden's interview comments a few days ago, but they seem to have hit the fan in a larger-scale Monday. Bryan York of The San Francisco Examiner wrote in response: "From moon landings to promoting self-esteem: It would be difficult to imagine a more dramatic shift in focus for an agency famous for reaching the heavens."

NASA seeks better ties with Muslim world, Federal News Radio

"Bolden denied, however, that he was taking on any kind of diplomatic role. "Not at all. It's not a diplomatic anything," he said."

Keith's note: News of this video is spilling off of Drudge Report and the fringe websites over into mainstream. This is just a quick snapshot of what is being posted out there. In essence, the question seems to be, why is Charlie Bolden off talking to Middle East folks when he is laying off thousands of Americans back home? And is talking to one group of foreign nations more important than focusing on what NASA is supposed to be doing? I will be the first one to suggest that NASA needs to vastly expand its sphere of relevance and inclusiveness well beyond traditional boundaries. But the way this comes off in Bolden's comments on Al Jazeera, working with Muslim countries is more important than virtually everything else that NASA is CHARTERED to do ... more important than reinvigorating our space industrial base, protecting the Earth, doing quality science, enhancing aviation, exploring the universe, etc.

Charlie Bolden was on an overtly diplomatic mission during this trip. To deny (as he did) on Al Jazeera that he was doing so is an insult to the intelligence of everyone concerned. Bolden has more on his plate than he can handle at NASA right now. The best thing he can do for America's space program is stay home and focus on his NASA responsibilities and not go off on TDY with the State Department.

On Al Jazeera, Bolden said "and third, and perhaps foremost, [President Obama] wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with predominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering."...

One small problem: there is no mention of this priority on Muslim nations that Bolden mentions in the full text of the new National Space Policy nor in the Fact Sheet issued on the policy, nor is there any mention in this briefing with State Department officials. However, the policy does say "Expand international cooperation on mutually beneficial space activities to: broaden and extend the benefits of space; further the peaceful use of space; and enhance collection and partnership in sharing of space-derived information" but it does not specifically and preferentially call out one subset of the world's nations for special attention as Bolden has done.

If Bolden is making these statements about the three goals that he is working on (above all others), one would think that these three goals would resonate and be consistent with the nation's avowed space policy. If he is not saying things that reflect this policy, then either he is freelancing (again) on things, or one has to question whether the National Space Policy, as announced, actually does reflect the nation's true space policy or just a portion thereof.

Go ahead and comment folks. But if the racist, bigoted remarks starts to show up again I'll shut comments off on this posting - just as I did on the earlier one.

Charlie Bolden: Stealth Middle East Diplomat?, earlier post