By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Some of us grew up with the space program.  The Soviet Union launched Sputnik[2], and America came roaring back with its own vehicles.  Men walked on the Moon, and began to explore other planets in our Solar System.

Then, with beleaguered Boeing at the helm, NASA seemed like the gang that couldn't do anything right.  Add in "Comatose" Joe Biden; and eight days in space turned into more than nine months, with the toll on our astronauts being staggering.[3]

Donald Trump gave Musk an order to go get them; and we watched NASA TV as their capsule splashed down near Tallahassee, Florida; and four astronauts emerged from inside the vehicle.[4]  It was heady stuff; and we Americans were proud, and cannot thank God, Elon Musk and those at SpaceX enough.

Musk is being criticized for his DOGE program, which is at work cutting waste from government programs.  And his Tesla cars are being boycotted.[5]  But yesterday he was an American hero, who rescued our astronauts.  Bravo!  Well done.

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© 2025, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/   He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at The Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service).  Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams.  He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1 ("Sputnik 1")

[3]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14514361/Shocking-photos-NASAs-astronauts-reveal-terrifying-damage-nine-unplanned-months-stuck-space-you.html ("The shocking things 286 days in space does to a human body") and https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14515033/nasa-astronaut-sunita-williams-return-doctor-health-concerns.html ("Doctors raise grave health concerns about NASA astronaut after subtle clue in new photo")

[4]  See https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/coverage-of-the-deorbit-burn-and-splashdown-of-the-nasa-spacex-dragon/

[5]  See, e.g., https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14407689/Elon-Musks-DOGE-Treasury-payments-untraceable.html ("Elon Musk's DOGE finds $4.7 trillion in Treasury payments on untraceable budget line - and no one knows where the money went") and https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration_second_term/most_voters_ok_with_tesla_protests_but_vandalism_nope ("Most Voters OK With Tesla Protests, But Vandalism? Nope"); see also https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2025/03/17/theres-a-county-in-california-where-the-government-officials-should-be-jailed/ ("There’s A County In California Where The Government Officials Should Be Jailed")