Nov 7, 2014 3 min read

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad as compiled by the Associated Press:

Americans are spoiled when it comes to space travel. We beat the Soviet Union to the moon. We’ve sent unmanned crafts to Mars. We’ve sent craft toward Jupiter. Our satellites roam the nightly skies.

So when there’s an accident involving a rocket, such as the one involving an unmanned Orbital Sciences rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station that exploded just above the launching pad, or the “anomaly” experienced by the Virgin Galatic test vehicle SpaceShipTwo that crashed in the Mojave Desert Oct. 31, the question comes up as to how such a thing can happen.

When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on liftoff or when the Shuttle Columbia blew up upon return, the space program rebounded.

But will those who can afford the $250,000 ticket for three exhilarating minutes in space want to take the chance? Time will tell.

It all begs a larger question. Is there truly a place for space travel for private companies taking civilians up into the outer reaches of space?

Given the exploratory nature of humans, it’s a question that at some point, those companies and the American people may not know how to answer.

By the time the dust settles on the 2014 election and all the final absentee ballots drift in, New York state will most likely assume its regular place near the bottom of the nation’s voter-turnout lists.

One proven way to boost voter turnout is to increase the opportunities for people to vote. And the most proven way is by allowing same-day voter registration.

In states with same-day voter registration, turnout has increased an average of 10 percent, according to the United States Election Project, a University of Florida-based elections research organization.

By allowing voters to register on Election Day, these voters’ ballots can be counted and their outdated registration information updated at the same time. Along with that, same-day registration reduces the need for provisional ballots. That means fewer ballots that need to be counted, reducing legal challenges, fraud, expense and inconvenience.

Same-day registration is a proven and efficient way to get more voters to the polls.

It has taken time, but the government’s response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa has been sensible and generous.

Australian-owned medical provider Aspen, a company with extensive experience in developing nations, will be paid by the government to send volunteers to Sierra Leone under an agreement with Britain to manage a 100-bed field hospital. The hospital will be functioning by the end of the month. Britain, which is just six hours’ flying time from the West African nation, compared with 30 hours to Australia, has agreed to treat any Australian volunteers who contract the virus.

The government, whose prime responsibility is to safeguard Australians, was right to wait until it had secured the necessary guarantees. Impetuous, knee-jerk actions make for poor outcomes and, correctly, the government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott is a stickler for due process in its overseas dealings.

The government also has been generous in more than doubling its initial contribution of $18 million toward efforts to combat an epidemic that is unfolding far from Australia’s sphere of influence.

Appropriately, $2 million will be spent improving preparations to deal with any outbreak of the disease in the Asia-Pacific region, including in Papua New Guinea and East Timor. Australia’s domestic response to combating Ebola will also be stepped up.