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The Soviets had threatened to dominate space well before the Eagle had landed. When the Soviet Space Program successfully sent Sputnik into orbit in’57, the so-called free world was in a panic. Congress reacted with swiftness reserved for a national crisis. Indeed, for many Americans, the perceived superiority of the Soviet program was tantamount to a crisis. President Eisenhower moved quickly to establish both NASA and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in’58.

It hurts to admit, but my father is a raving pack rat. He keeps everything from bent paper clips to broken toys from our childhood. He loves holding on to random wires and old VHS remotes. He’s also a fan of keeping old, unusable tires — just in case. Just in case science creates a time machine, I like to quip. World collided, recently, when I had the idea of having a garage sale. It took all my powers of persuasion to convince him to part with even a third of his massive stash.

There is hard evidence that suggests the loan industry has, and still does, target minorities. ACORN maintains African Americans and other minorities were, and still are, disproportionately targeted. They are burdened with significantly higher interest rates than their white counterparts, even when median income levels were comparable. The ramifications of predatory lending are families that are straddled with tremendous interest rates and significant debt. The end result seems to be foreclosure. Pursuing debt settlement and mortgage refinancing are viable defenses against the predators.

It should come as no surprise that the Golden State is shot-through with big cities. From San Francisco to Los Angeles to Newport Beach and back up the coast again, there are no shortages of big cities to choose from. To be sure, smaller college towns like Berkeley, Davis, and Irvine also get folded into the Golden State batter. With all of these options, what makes Sacramento the capitol?