"If I had a business executive come to me and say I want to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon ... I'd say, you're fired!" ~ Mitt Romney (to Newt Gingrich )
Dr. Dennis Hope, self-proclaimed 'head cheese' of the Lunar Embassy, has been selling parcels of Moon Real Estate complete with lunar deed suitable for framing since 1980... and, you can even get the tee shirt.
This afternoon I went directly to the definitive source on moon colonizing.
I interviewed Dr. Dennis Hope by phone at the earth headquarters of the Lunar Embassy in Gardnerville Nevada. Mr. Hope (aptly named) is a true visionary. My first and only question was "Tell me about Dr. Dennis Hope."
Hope returned my call while I was driving. After the first few minutes I pulled over because I realized that writing with eye-liner pencil on the back of an envelope was not going to do justice to his incredible narrative. I had prepared a list of questions I planned to ask him but opted to toss them out in favor of letting him solo, uninterrupted.
"George Bush promised a permanent installation on the moon by 2015 and people living on the moon in 2020" Hope said, "thus far there has been no funding for the project."
In 1967, 'The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space Including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies', was ratified by three original signatories : the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. Since that time 100 additional countries have signed on as parties to the treaty. The Outer Space Treaty is the basic framework for space law. The basic tenets, in short form, are the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction in orbit around the earth as well as their installation on the moon or any other celestial body. Conventional weapons apparently are not included.
Hope continued, "Article II of the treaty states that the moon and other celestial bodies being the 'Common Heritage of Man' are not subject to nation appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation."
I followed with," Moon colonies, Newt Gingrich... your thoughts ?"
" Gingrich is a blowhard!... And what he proposes for the moon is a lie !"
In 1980 Dr. Hope got a leg up on Speaker Gingrich by forming a democratic republic called 'The Galactic Government'. Since then an estimated five million property owners have shelled out in excess of $9,000,000 (at $19.99 a pop) to real estate mogul Hope for prime acreage on the moon.
The information on offer was so dense that I arranged to continue our interview back at my desk several hours later.
PART II LUNAR EMBASSY ISLAND
Mr. Hope told me that he is currently looking for an island on which he plans to build an enormous four-sided glass pyramid with a footprint three kilometers square and 2.5 kilometers high. He told me that the armature is to be fashioned of titanium and the space between the double glass curtain walls would be filled with glycerol.
[Note: glycerol is used in the production of a large number of products such as personal lubricants, bubble blowing substances and dynamite. ] Hope anticipates
that upwards of 300,000 people could live in his great pyramid. A second pyramid, doppelganger to the earth installation, is to be constructed in New Hope City, Sea of Tranquility, the Moon.
During the interview Hope graciously forwarded 'The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of The Galactic Government'. Chief among the highlights: No income tax. Dollars earned on earth could be deposited directly to a discrete account at the New Hope City Bank. The lunar currency, the 'Delta', yet to be precisely monetized, would be backed not by gold but by the Helium 3 standard.
In addition to the Lunar Embassy Island project Dr. Hope has filed a patent with the Galactic Government patent office for an 'Antigravitic Propulsion System' which he claims would shorten the trip to the moon to 30 minutes enabling property holders to travel to their lunar summer homes in less time than the average daily commute. [The record of 8 hours and thirty-five minutes is currently held by NASA's New Horizon Pluto Mission ]. Dr. Hope qualified that he has yet to work out a few remaining bugs in his 'Antigravitic Propulsion System' (specifically the acceleration and deceleration bits).
In summation I asked Dr. Hope if there was anything he wanted to say to Newt
Gingrich. He answered, "I'd treat him the way he'd treat me, I wouldn't give him the time of day."
Post Script :
Dr. Hope recently sent a letter to President Obama offering a donation of 125 trillion dollars to retire the national debt with lots left over to restore the ailing American economy. He is waiting for a reply.