# A moonwalk is an extinction-level event? How dumb can Democrats.com be? Non-political **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630 "2002-09-16T02:03:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/21 "2002-09-21T04:13:44Z")
I think the next time this site (Dems) says someone is not a rocket scientist, that person should say “Thank God.” ---
**Author:** ![Mirage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mirage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirage)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2002, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/22 "2002-09-21T05:30:03Z")
Forget about all the gravitational imbalance that will be caused between the Earth and the Moon, what about all the precious oxygen and hydrogen lost transporting the material back to earth. They’re stealing our atmosphere and selling it back to us as moon rocks. We’ve got to get together on this people before Big Business manages to coerce Bush into selling our breathing space! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/23 "2002-09-22T02:44:46Z")
Thank goodness [democrats.com](http://democrats.com) doesn’t seem to have any official connection with the Democratic Party. As their page says: > [@](#): > > [Democrats.com](http://Democrats.com) is the largest independent community of Democrats. (Underlining mine.) Another sample from [Democrats.com](http://Democrats.com): > [@](#): > > Which insane, preening, warmongering despot does George W. Bush most closely resemble? The competition is tough: Adolf Hitler… Attilah the Hun… Big Brother… Darth Vader… Julius Caesar… Mobutu Sese Seko… Napoleon Bonaparte… Nero… Saddam Hussein… Slobodan Milosevic… Cast your vote(s), and defend your choice(s) in our forum! Can you say, “These guys are fucking loons who wouldn’t recognize reality if it smacked them in the face”? ---
**Author:** ![JohnStracke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58956e/32.png) [@JohnStracke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnStracke)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2002, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/24 "2002-09-22T18:49:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mirage \* > \*\*We’ve got to get together on this people before Big Business manages to coerce Bush into selling our breathing space! \*\* Too late. He already ducked out of the Kyoto agreement. ---
**Author:** ![Re\_PT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Re\_PT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Re_PT)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/25 "2002-09-23T16:18:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Genseric \* > Why didn’t the moon spiral out of control or go off on a tangent when we crashed the Lunar Prospector into it, by the way? Too much back spin. [sub]Or am I taking my billiard ball impact lessons a bit too literally?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![apotheosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@apotheosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apotheosis)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/26 "2002-09-23T16:23:05Z")
Ok, the latest version of “The Time Machine” did sucketh most mightily…but that scene with the moon was just goddamned eerie, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Powers106](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@Powers106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers106)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/27 "2002-09-23T16:34:23Z")
Another ‘miner’ point, even if they really started hauling ton after ton of minerals et al. from the moon, wouldn’t the infrastructure, buildings and machinery needed to do that actually help to RETAIN the “delicate gravitational interplay” between the moon and earth? :rolleyes: They will be cancelling each other out, right? I mean, in a backwards ass way, [democrat.com](http://democrat.com) is actually SUPPORTING mining on the moon if we start bringing stuff up there (like a space station or a Starbucks, for example). :smack: ---
**Author:** ![7string](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/8baadc/32.png) [@7string](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7string)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/28 "2002-09-23T16:42:36Z")
I have two things to say! johnpluc Woudln’t the rats just shit out the basic same mass they just ate? I mean, if we’re going to talk realistically here, we have to mention the rat guano. lawoot [best Homer Simpson voice] It’s nuculer… nuculer [Best Homer Simpson voice] ---
**Author:** ![jonpluc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jonpluc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonpluc)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/29 "2002-09-23T18:34:37Z")
7string… NASA has hired the Pied Piper as a consultant so after the rats have eaten thier fill he will drive them off with a special space flute and a large golf club. \ Is a 3 iron a large enough club to break the moons gravity or will he have to move up to a wood? ---
**Author:** ![7string](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/8baadc/32.png) [@7string](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7string)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/30 "2002-09-23T19:12:38Z")
You won’t know until you have VERY carefully calculated the gravitational disburance created by each rat’s mass. You will have to recalculate for every rat you knock off of the moon (more difficult since each rat will be carrying some of the moon’s mass with it). Also, from the way the OP states it you are going to have to be careful not to hit the rats too hard lest the oposite and equal reaction throw the moon off of it’s delicate axis causing it to plummet to the earth. Now to the answer to your question. Yes, a 3 iron should have enough mass. However, I’m guessing you will have millions of rats and that’s gonna be some mighty thirsty work. So, I would actually use a 1 wood to get the most bang for the buck. You know, less effort, more distance. Just remember, in space, no one can hear you squeal! ---
**Author:** ![7string](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/8baadc/32.png) [@7string](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7string)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/31 "2002-09-23T19:14:21Z")
That was supposed to be disturbance… D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2002, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/32 "2002-09-23T19:38:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Genseric \* > \*\* > Why didn’t the moon spiral out of control or go off on a tangent when we crashed the Lunar Prospector into it, by the way? \*\* What a silly question. The reason is because the Lunar Prospector was a project done under a Democratic administration. Since Democrats care about the environment and space and stuff, it surely was safe to send it to the moon. TransOrbital, however, is a mean, nasty, exploitive, polluting wascly Wepublican project. So, of course, if it lifts a microbe of dust off the lunar surface, it will send the moon crashing right into the earth. And if the Replublicans had it thier way, they’d send it right into the lower-income housing districts of New York City. 😃 Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/33 "2002-09-24T19:48:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > **I’m sorry. I can only assume that an orangutan got ahold of a keyboard and started banging. You’ve heard the phrase “Environmentalist wacko”? Apparently, this is him.** Actually, with a name like Cheryl, it’s probably a “her.” If you think that quote is amusing though, you should see the retort she posted to someone who raised some of the same points: [http://www.democrats.com/view.cfm?id=9443](http://www.democrats.com/view.cfm?id=9443) I gave up trying to count the tangents. Nothing like boring your opponents to death to avoid trying to address the real issue. I think my personal favorite from Cheryl’s retort was the following: > [@](#): > > FYI (you accuse us of being uninformed): I abstract 20-30 articles from scientific journals every week, including (to name a few) “Nature,” “Science,” “Physics Today,” “Journal of Physical Oceaography” (plenty of sea-moon interplay research has appeared here in recent years), the Journal of the American Physics Association, “Geophysical Research Letters” (loaded with cutting edge stuff involving the bigger picture of the Earth and the solar system), plus about 100 others in the course of the year. I read “3-2-1 Contact” magazine as a kid, occasionally read “Popular Science”, slept through physics in college, and every once in a while flip on Discovery Channel. Does this qualify me as an expert as well? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2002, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/34 "2002-09-24T20:39:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jonpluc \* > \*\* Is a 3 iron a large enough club to break the moons gravity or will he have to move up to a wood? \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 7string \* > \*\*You won’t know until you have VERY carefully calculated the gravitational disburance created by each rat’s mass. You will have to recalculate for every rat you knock off of the moon (more difficult since each rat will be carrying some of the moon’s mass with it). \*\* I tried to do some quick calculations, but then I realized that I don’t care. I couldn’t give a flying rats mass. ---
**Author:** ![jonpluc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jonpluc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonpluc)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/35 "2002-09-24T20:58:02Z")
BA BA BUM Thank you very much, Adam yax will be here all week!!! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/36 "2002-09-25T02:46:19Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Hoopy Frood_ > Actually, with a name like Cheryl, it’s probably a “her.” That’s the sort of sexist asumption I’d expect from an anti-moon Republican like you! ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630/37 "2002-09-25T15:38:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\* > > That’s the sort of sexist asumption I’d expect from an anti-moon Republican like you! \*\* I’m not anti-moon. See… - (_|_) \* 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-moonwalk-is-an-extinction-level-event-how-dumb-can-democrats-com-be-non-political/128630.md?page=1)