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Actually, the whole "Rods From God/Lawn Darts From Hell" weapon system could probably be most cheaply implemented by mounting them on top of decommissioned ballistic missiles. Just how many secret underground nuclear complexes do you need to destroy? We happen to be taking the nukes of some of those missiles anyways, might as well do something useful with the booster, and people won't get as exercised about "OMG weapons in space!" if it's stay in space is only a few minutes long.

I like your idea, but I like my idea (we need a meta-narrative - - even if its a noble lie) more.

What meta-narrative? It is too many things for too many people.

*I'm wondering what -the- pretext for the weaponization of space will be; the actual starting point which will justify what follows.

Probably will start with the point made in the article:  Protection of commercial/unarmed satellites.

And of course the protection factor will be "overkill." 

--Cindy

Freshly-released autopsy results reveal that Terri Shiavo was blind:

    Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin concluded that…her brain was about half of normal size when she died. …

    Thogmartin says her brain was “profoundly atrophied” – and that the damage was “irreversable.” He also says, “The vision centers of her brain were dead” – meaning she was blind.

Which makes Dr. Frist’s expert “diagnosis” all the more outrageous:

    Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a renowned heart surgeon before becoming Senate majority leader, went to the floor late Thursday night for the second time in 12 hours to argue that Florida doctors had erred in saying Terri Schiavo is in a “persistent vegetative state.”

    “I question it based on a review of the video footage which I spent an hour or so looking at last night in my office,” he said in a lengthy speech in which he quoted medical texts and standards.“She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli.”

The other option spoken of, the one with no Ukrainian parts, would be to take the current R-7 Soyuz rocket and swap out its old kerosene upper stage for a liquid hydrogen engine.

According to the original plans, the Kliper would be launched on top of a yet-to-be developed Onega booster -- a heavily modified Soyuz rocket -- with no payload fairing but with the emergency escape rocket attached to the nose section of the reentry capsule. The emergency escape system, resembling that of the Soyuz spacecraft, would be capable of pulling the crew capsule away from the launch vehicle at every stage of the launch and orbit insertion.

A successful development of the Onega booster and its launch infrastructure would be one of the most challenging and expensive aspects of the project. Also, the decision to base the project on the expendable booster would limit economic viability of the reusable spacecraft. The Onega booster, could be launched from upgraded Soyuz facilities in Baikonur, Plesetsk and, potentially, French Guiana.

Given virtually nonexistent chances of obtaining funding for the Onega, RKK Energia considered the Zenit booster with similar capabilities. The most advanced vehicle in the Soviet rocket fleet, the Zenit was essentially banished from the Russian space program, when the collapse of the USSR left its prime manufacturer in the newly independent republic of Ukraine. Yet, in the case of Kliper, technical pragmatism outweighed political considerations. By August 2004, the company essentially committed to "re-tailor" the Kliper for the Zenit. The spacecraft had to shed around 1.5 tons from its total mass and around one ton from the mass of its reentry capsule. In addition, the emergency escape system was moved from the top of the spacecraft to the launch vehicle adapter. This way, during a nominal flight, emergency escape engines would be used for final orbital insertion maneuver, providing extra weight savings.

Building (and maintaining) a smooth running society is what allowed the wealthy to get wealthy in the first place.

Depending on how the wealth was acquired. By all means, tax dividends and interest.

But taxing wages is theft, pure and simple.

Now that reminds me of the thermic wind turbine project in Australia. Only that they simply build a glass top over a huge surface with a mile high chimney in the middle. It also can be made to work at night by covering parts of the surface with water that stores heat during the day and releases it at night.
It has a somewhat higher investment cost per Watt than coal plants, but is more cost effective on the long run.